The US would seek to ensure that its competition with China does not escalate into conflict and affect stability in Taiwan as the US and Chinese presidents meet virtually today, Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said on Saturday.
The White House said that US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would discuss ways to “responsibly manage the competition” between the two countries and how to work together where their interests align.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Taiwan could be one of the topics covered.
Photo: Reuters
Hsiao said that Taiwan has trust in the US and there is close communication between the two sides.
Taiwan’s understanding is that the meeting is about managing competition, she said, adding that as there are multiple layers of competition between the US and China, the US would aim to ensure that it does not escalate into conflict, and affect peace and stability in Taiwan.
The safety and security of Taiwan is an important and critical issue to the US and to other stakeholders in the region, she added.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Tsuei Ching-lin (崔靜麟) yesterday said that since Biden took office, his administration had on numerous occasions reiterated that its support for Taiwan was “rock solid,” which it has also demonstrated through numerous actions.
Tsuei thanked Washington for its support, and said that Taiwan would continue to strengthen its defensive capabilities to safeguard its freedoms and democracy.
It would also continue to cooperate with the US and other countries to promote peace in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
In other news, Hsiao was on Saturday asked whether a referendum next month aimed at overturning a decision by the government to allow the importation of pork containing traces of the feed additive ractopamine would affect Taiwan-US relations if it passes.
She said that whether Taiwan’s trade policy was consistent with international standards and based on scientific evidence was an issue that “the US has been concerned about for many years.”
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
‘BALANCE OF POWER’: Hegseth said that the US did not want to ‘strangle’ China, but to ensure that none of Washington’s allies would be vulnerable to military aggression Washington has no intention of changing the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Saturday, adding that one of the US military’s main priorities is to deter China “through strength, not through confrontation.” Speaking at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Hegseth outlined the US Department of Defense’s priorities under US President Donald Trump. “First, defending the US homeland and our hemisphere. Second, deterring China through strength, not confrontation. Third, increased burden sharing for us, allies and partners. And fourth, supercharging the US defense industrial base,” he said. US-China relations under
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
RSS