The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed “sincere gratitude” toward the US for taking “concrete actions” to maintain security and peace in the Taiwan Strait and the region, after the White House on Friday said it would boost trade with Taiwan and insist on the right of air and sea passage in the area in response to China’s “provocative” behavior.
A new trade plan is to be unveiled within days, while US forces are to transit the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks, US National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell told reporters in a teleconference.
The statement came after Beijing raged at last week’s trip to Taipei by US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi, launching its largest-ever military drills around Taiwan proper.
Photo: Reuters
Campbell said that Pelosi’s visit was “consistent” with Washington’s existing policy and that China had “overreacted.”
Beijing used the pretext to “launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan to try to change the status quo, jeopardizing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region,” he said. “China has overreacted and its actions continue to be provocative, destabilizing and unprecedented.”
In response to China’s drills, the US is reasserting its involvement in the area, while reiterating its policy of “strategic ambiguity” — diplomatically recognizing China, while simultaneously supporting Taiwan.
Campbell said the administration would continue to “deepen our ties with Taiwan, including through continuing to advance our economic and trade relationship.”
“For example, we’re developing an ambitious road map for trade negotiations, which we intend to announce in the coming days,” he said.
The US would also reassert its right to use international air and sea space between Taiwan and China, he said.
US forces “will continue to fly, sail and operate where international law allows, consistent with our long-standing commitment to freedom of navigation,” he said.
“That includes conducting standard air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks,” he told reporters.
Campbell did not confirm what kind of deployment would be made to support the maneuvers, saying he had no “comments about either the nature of our crossings or the timings across the Taiwan Strait.”
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said in a statement that China’s “unprovoked military and econom[ic] intimidation” had “further strengthened the unity and resilience of the global democratic camp.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday said that China’s threat of force is undiminished, even though Beijing’s largest-ever military drills seemed to be scaling down.
At a rally in the south yesterday for November’s local elections, Tsai said the Democratic Progressive Party was not just facing rival candidates, “but also pressure from China.”
“Taiwanese are very enthusiastic and love freedom and democracy. So many good international friends have come to Taiwan to support us. This is a normal and good thing, but China threatens and intimidates Taiwan,” she said.
“However, I would like to reassure everyone that both our government and the military are prepared, and I will definitely take care of Taiwan,” she added.
Criticizing China’s decision to halt cooperation with Washington on issues including the fight against climate change, Campbell on Friday said that “we have and will continue to keep lines of communication open with Beijing.”
He added that US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) have asked staff to arrange an in-person summit, but he declined to comment on reports that this could take place during the G20 meeting in Bali in November.
“We don’t have anything further in terms of details on time or location,” he said.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS