The US Department of State on Friday said that China’s campaign to lure Taiwan’s allies to switch recognition to Beijing has been “harmful” to regional stability.
“China’s active campaign to alter the cross-strait status quo, including by enticing countries to discontinue diplomatic ties with Taiwan, are harmful and undermine regional stability,” a department spokesperson said in an e-mail.
“They undermine the framework that has enabled peace, stability and development for decades,” the spokesperson said.
Photo: EPA-EFE/DAVID CHANG
Earlier in the day, Taiwan announced that it was cutting diplomatic ties with Kiribati.
The announcement came after the central Pacific nation switched diplomatic allegiance from Taipei to Beijing.
Kiribati was the second diplomatic ally Taiwan lost to China this week, after the Solomon Islands on Monday switched ties. Taiwan now has 15 diplomatic allies left.
The department expressed disappointment over Kiribati’s decision.
“Countries that establish closer ties to China primarily out of the hope or expectation that such a step will stimulate economic growth and infrastructure development often find themselves worse off in the long run,” the spokesperson said.
The statement described Taiwan as a democratic success story, a reliable partner and a force for good in international society.
The spokesperson said that Washington supports the “status quo” regarding relations across the Taiwan Strait, as well as Taiwan’s diplomatic ties and international space.
A senior White House official said that Kiribati’s decision is unlikely to contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, and “will not help the I-Kiribati as they work to build a sustainable and sovereign future for their country.”
Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director Douglas Paal said that China’s latest campaign matches its strategy for Taiwan, as it has imposed pressure on the nation economically, militarily and politically.
Paal, who is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said it seems as if Beijing has a “perverse logic,” believing that such diplomatic maneuvering would help the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and hurt the Democratic Progressive Party.
“But it does not translate across the Strait. It hurts all Taiwanese,” Paal said, adding that China’s actions showed the ineffectiveness of US and Australian policy toward Pacific island nations, urging US policymakers to regroup and rethink their policies.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) accused China of trying to interfere in next year’s elections by convincing Kiribati to switch ties.
Tsai said that China would continue to suppress and coerce Taiwan ahead of the elections to influence their outcome.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
RSS