US Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton would not change any of the US’ policies toward China and Taiwan if she is elected to the White House in November.
“Secretary Clinton supports the current administration’s policy on China and Taiwan, and will continue to do so,” senior campaign foreign policy adviser Jake Sullivan said.
He was speaking on Monday at a special briefing for foreign media at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Sullivan said Clinton believes that peaceful development and strengthening of cross-strait relations is important, and that she supports the Taiwan Relations Act and the “one China” policy.
“So you won’t find any surprises or significant departures from the secretary’s position on the relationship than you do with [US] President [Barack] Obama over the last few years,” Sullivan said.
He said that Clinton felt “strongly” that China had to be not just a selective stakeholder, but a comprehensive, responsible stakeholder in the international system.
“That goes for its dealing with all of its neighbors and it goes for its dealings in the South China Sea,” Sullivan said.
He said that in Hanoi in 2010, Clinton “brought forward” a set of proposals about the peaceful resolution of disputes and compliance with international law in respect to the South China Sea.
“She believes that the recent tribunal finding ... advances the goal of peaceful resolution of disputes and the lawful settlement of claims in that area,” Sullivan said. “Ultimately, she believes this is a matter for diplomacy for the various parties to come together in a multilateral format, and work out once and for all the very difficult questions that have troubled the region.”
Sullivan said that the US would remain committed to the principle of freedom of navigation, and to supporting its allies and partners in trying to resolve the South China Sea disputes.
“The last thing I would say is perhaps the most important factor. Every country should do all that it can to avoid escalation of the situation, to avoid intimidation, to avoid coercion, to avoid miscalculation, to avoid mistakes,” he said. “All of us need to work together to try to get ourselves on a diplomatic pathway that can resolve this and to stay off a pathway of escalation, precipitous activity, any type of military activity that is going to make it harder to reach a resolution, and that is the position that she will pursue as president.”
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard