US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday told his Chinese counterpart that the US opposes actions by China that have increased tensions across the Taiwan Strait, a senior US Department of State official said.
During the hour-long meeting with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Rome, Blinken made “crystal clear” that Washington opposes any unilateral changes by Beijing to the “status quo” there, the official said.
An increase in Chinese military exercises in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone in the past few months are part of what Taiwan views as stepped-up military harassment by Beijing.
Photo: AP
The US wants to manage the intense competition between the world’s two largest economies responsibly, the state department official said, adding that both sides acknowledged that open lines of communication are paramount.
While the US, like most countries, has no formal ties with Taiwan, Washington is the nation’s most important international backer and main arms supplier, and is required by law to provide it with the means to defend itself.
Washington has long followed a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, although US President Joe Biden last week said that the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if necessary.
Blinken made clear that Washington had not changed its “one China” policy regarding Taiwan, the official said.
He and Wang did not discuss a recent Chinese hypersonic weapons test that military experts say appears to show Beijing’s pursuit of an Earth-orbiting system designed to evade US missile defenses, the official said.
Separately, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Saturday called for mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccines based on the WHO’s emergency use list, according to a transcript of his remarks published by China’s Xinhua news agency.
Speaking to the G20 Leaders’ Summit via video link, Xi said that China had provided more than 1.6 billion COVID-19 shots to the world, and was working with 16 nations to cooperate on manufacturing doses.
“China is willing to work with all parties to improve the accessibility and affordability of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries,” Xi said.
Xi reiterated China’s support of the WTO making an early decision on waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, and he called for vaccine companies to be encouraged to transfer technology to developing countries.
Two Chinese vaccines have been included in the WHO’s emergency use list.
Xi also called for policies to maintain global economic and financial stability, saying that China would strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination and maintain policy continuity, stability and sustainability.
“Major economies should adopt responsible macroeconomic policies to avoid negative spillover effects to developing countries and maintain the steady operation of the international economic and financial system,” he said.
Xi’s statement came as G20 leaders endorsed a global minimum tax on corporations, a linchpin of new international tax rules aimed at blunting the edge of tax havens amid skyrocketing profits of some multinational businesses.
The move was hailed by US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen as benefiting US businesses and workers.
G20 finance ministers in July agreed on a 15 percent minimum tax, which the leaders’ summit formally endorsed.
Additional reporting by AP
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
RSS