Over the past few years, the US has “transformed and redefined” the way it thinks about Taiwan, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Ray Burghardt said in Washington on Monday.
During that time, it has started to take Taiwan seriously in and of itself, he said.
Addressing a Brookings Institution conference on relations across the Taiwan Strait, Burghardt said the relationship is now viewed as important and not “as some appendage or some small aspect of our relationship with Beijing.”
Photo: CNA
He reminded the audience that Taiwan was the US’ 10th-largest trading partner and sixth-largest source of foreign students.
“We cooperate more and more on issues that extend beyond our bilateral ties — things like counterterrorism, health and economic issues,” Burghardt said.
“For a place of 23 million people, they are really punching above their weight,” he added.
US policies on Taiwan have three main focuses: supporting Taiwan’s ability to deter aggression and coercion; promoting Taiwan’s economic openness and diversification; and helping Taiwan enjoy the dignity and respect it deserves in the international community, Burghardt said.
“These three aspects are closely related to one central policy, and that is to support the ability of the people in Taiwan to determine their own fate, free from intimidation and coercion,” he said.
Burghardt said this policy had given Taiwan the self-confidence that had made it possible for improved cross-strait relations.
“Both sides have reduced tensions and they have reduced the possibility of miscalculation,” he said.
“Stable management of cross-strait relations has been a major factor that has made possible the significant progress in US-Taiwan relations,” Burghardt said.
He said Taiwan’s status as a democracy, respecting human rights and the rule of law, was a major reason for the broad and the deep respect that it enjoys.
“Regardless of who becomes the next president, we will work together with Taiwan’s new leaders to strengthen our unofficial relations and to safeguard our interests,” Burghardt said.
“We encourage both Beijing and Taipei to continue their constructive dialogue on the basis of dignity and respect,” he said.
“We do not push them in their negotiations and we don’t discourage them from certain topics of negotiation. It is all up to them — the content, the scope and the pace of cross-strait relations,” he added.
He said that Washington had encouraged Beijing to “exercise patience, show flexibility, restraint and even creativity.”
It was important that both sides understood the importance of the many benefits that stable ties had brought to them, to the US and to the region, he said.
Burghardt faced a barrage of questions on whether Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had given the US any private assurances about how she would handle cross-strait relations if elected.
“I was in on all of the government meetings she had, all of them, and we agreed to say afterward they were useful and constructive talks,” Burghardt said.
“People made comments when she came four years ago, and we decided we were not going to do that this time,” he said. “We decided that having the US government characterize her visit, and what she had told us, was not a good move and so I will stick to that.”
Burghardt added that Tsai was very well-prepared for the visit.
He also said that Taiwanese officials will be in Washington next week for high-level talks and that the US is also undertaking preparatory works ahead of another round of negotiations of the US-led Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which is to be held in the second half of this year.
According to sources, the high-level talks that Burghardt mentioned refer to talks known in defense circles as the “Monterey Talks.”
Additional reporting by Nadia Tsao
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from