Washington has confirmed to Taipei that its policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
The US is to maintain its commitments to Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement.
The Presidential Office issued the remarks after US President Joe Biden — who for the first time since taking office was responding to Chinese military sorties near Taiwan — told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that the two nations should stick to the “Taiwan agreement.”
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
“I’ve spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree ... we will abide by the Taiwan agreement,” Biden told reporters at the White House after returning from a trip to Michigan when asked about China’s military maneuvers in the South China Sea.
“That’s where we are and we made it clear that I don’t think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement,” he said, without specifying what agreement he was referring to.
NO CHANGE
Following Biden’s remarks about the “Taiwan agreement,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately checked with US officials in Taipei and Washington, who reassured ministry officials that US has not changed its policy toward Taiwan, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.
As the US Department of State’s statement on Sunday shows, the US’ policy toward Taiwan is predicated on its Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” Ou said.
The US has reiterated that its commitment to Taiwan is rock solid, and that it would continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining adequate self-defense capabilities, she added.
COMMITTED
Asked to clarify the “Taiwan agreement,” the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) also referred to the US state department’s statement, without commenting further.
The ministry thanked the Biden administration for reiterating its commitment to Taiwan, Ou said.
In the face of Chinese military, diplomatic and economic pressure, Taiwan and the US have been maintaining close and smooth communication, she said.
The government would continue to bolster its self-defense capabilities, in a bid to defend Taiwan’s freedoms and democratic institutions, while continuing to work with the US and other like-minded partners in defending a rules-based international order, Ou added.
This month, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed a record number of aircraft in military exercises near Taiwan, a move criticized by Taipei as a provocation and an attempt to intimidate.
Over the past five days, 150 PLA warplanes have entered the southwestern part of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, according to the Ministry of National Defense, which has made the data available on its Web site since September last year.
BACKUP
The dispute over Taiwan was expected to be on the agenda when US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) met in Zurich, Switzerland, later yesterday.
The talks are the highest-level meeting between the two nations since an acrimonious exchange in Anchorage, Alaska, in March and are the latest sign of a potential diplomatic thaw between them.
Additional reporting by Lin Chia-nan and Bloomberg
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