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
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS