As Taiwan prepares for the inauguration of president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the US is once again calling for both Taipei and Beijing to show flexibility in their ongoing relationship.
“We have emphasized to parties on both sides of the Strait our interest in the maintenance of peace and stability,” US National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said.
“Our hope is that both sides will continue to show flexibility going forward in the name of maintaining peace and stability,” he said during a Foreign Press Center briefing on US President Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to Vietnam and Japan.
He was asked whether a possible Chinese demand that Tsai recognize the so-called “1992 consensus” and the “one China” principle would affect the future of US-Taiwan and cross-strait relations.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
“The United States continues to make clear to our friends in both Taipei and Beijing that we’re going to maintain our very consistent one China policy based on both the Three Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act,” Kritenbrink said.
“We are sending an unofficial delegation to the inauguration in Taipei,” he said. “The purpose of that unofficial delegation is to again emphasize our commitment to the importance of our unofficial relations with Taiwan, to congratulate the people of Taiwan on a successful democratic election and to underscore America’s interest in maintaining cross-strait peace and stability.”
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel was asked at the briefing about a Taiwan connection to a Pentagon report released last week on China’s military power.
“What is the motivation behind the Pentagon’s statement against Taiwan independence, especially before Tsai Ing-wen’s inaugural speech? What message is the US trying to send to China?” he was asked.
Russel said the Pentagon report was an annual publication to provide an analysis update.
“There is no change to US policy and this is not a vehicle for telegraphing any potential change in our policy,” he said.
Earlier in the week, US Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting Ben Rhodes said that Washington would not pressure Tsai regarding the content of her inaugural address.
“Her speech is for her to determine and so we certainly wouldn’t want to dictate terms for what we expect to see,” he told a seminar at Washington-based think tank Center for a New American Security.
Obama is to leave Washington tomorrow for his first visit to Vietnam. He is scheduled to conduct talks with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi and travel to Ho Chi Minh City for talks with the youth movement, entrepreneurs and the business community.
Obama is then to fly to Japan for the G7 summit, arriving on Wednesday next week.
The summit in Ise-Shima is to start on Thursday and conclude early in the afternoon on Friday. Obama is to hold a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before departing for Hiroshima.
Kritenbrink said it would be Obama’s 10th trip to the region as president.
“This trip is a manifestation, we believe, of two key elements of the rebalance [to Asia],” he said.
“First, building new partnerships with emerging powers in the region like Vietnam; and second, strengthening our treaty allies, including with Japan, which is at the heart of our Asian strategy,” he said.
Kritenbrink said Obama’s visit to Hiroshima would reaffirm the US’ long-standing commitment to peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons.
“This visit will offer an opportunity to honor the memory of all innocents who were lost [during World War II],” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as