The US encourages “all countries to expand engagement with Taiwan,” a US Department of State official said on Saturday, after Palau’s president said that the Micronesian nation has faced economic coercion from China over its ties to Taiwan.
“Taiwan is a reliable, like-minded and democratic partner, and its partnerships — official and unofficial — around the world provide significant and sustainable benefits to the citizens of those countries,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We encourage all countries to expand engagement with Taiwan.”
Earlier this month, Washington condemned Beijing’s “predatory economic activities.”
Photo: CNA
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr on Aug. 14 said that “China has openly told us [Palau’s relationship with Taiwan] is illegal and we should not recognize Taiwan.”
Whipps cited reduced visitor numbers from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as evidence of economic coercion aimed at encouraging Palau to sever its formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
He separately told The Associated Press in an interview that the Chinese ambassador stationed in a neighboring country had in 2020 promised to send 1 million Chinese visitors to Palau if the tourism-dependent country severed relations with Taiwan and established ties with China.
Despite this “weaponization” of tourism, the Palauan president reaffirmed his country’s commitment to Taiwan, saying “our relationship with Taiwan should not be questioned by anyone.”
In response to Whipps’ comments, the US Department of State on Aug. 16 said that Washington is “aware of reported previous attempts to economically pressure Palau, likely due to its diplomatic ties with Taiwan.”
“These reports align with a range of alleged increasingly problematic behavior from the PRC, including predatory economic activities,” the State Department’s press office said.
Since establishing formal relations with Taiwan in 1999, Palau — a small nation in Micronesia with a population of fewer than 20,000 — has resisted China’s diplomatic overtures.
In other news, a senior White House official on Friday said that the US would raise concerns about China’s “destabilizing” military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan when US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan meets China’s foreign minister in Beijing next week.
Sullivan would travel to Beijing for meetings with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) from tomorrow to Thursday, the White House said.
“I expect in these conversations next week we’re going to raise concerns about the PRC’s increased military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan,” the official said in a news briefing phone call early on Friday morning.
“These activities are destabilizing and risk escalation,” the official said, without elaborating. “And we’re going to continue to urge Beijing to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taipei.”
Reiterating the commitment of US President Joe Biden’s administration to the US’ “one China” policy — in which Washington recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China, but only acknowledges Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is a part of China — the official said the US “oppose[s] unilateral changes to the status quo from either side.”
“We expect cross-strait differences to be resolved peacefully,” the official added.
“Everything that we have seen come out of Taipei indicates that the current leadership remains committed to maintaining status quo and peace and stability,” the official said, referring to President William Lai’s (賴清德) calls for dialogue with Beijing since assuming office in May.
The official added that “the economic impact of instability in the region would be overwhelming” and there is a “global stake in continued peace and stability and status quo.”
Separately, Chinese state media yesterday said that Beijing plans to voice “serious concerns” on Taiwan and other security issues in the upcoming talks with the US.
Additional reporting by AFP
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS