US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Taiwan a democratic success story and praised its allies’ decision to support the nation in a statement at the two-day 19th Micronesia Presidents’ Summit, which opened in Palau on Wednesday.
In the statement released by the US embassy in Suva — which covers Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu — one day before the summit opened, Pompeo highlighted Taiwan’s “commitment to democracy and open societies,” values he said were shared by the US and the five nations of Micronesia: Palau, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru.
“Taiwan is also a democratic success story, a reliable partner and a force for good in the world,” Pompeo said.
“As [US] Vice President Mike Pence said, America will always believe Taiwan’s embrace of democracy is an example to be internationally supported,” Pompeo said. “We respect and support the decision those of you have made to continue to support Taiwan.”
The summit was attended by the heads of state of the five Micronesian nations, which — apart from the Federated States of Micronesia — all maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Pompeo’s statement came as China is beefing up efforts to gain dominance in the South Pacific and was regarded as a reminder by the US government of the value of maintaining formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, according to a Voice of America report broadcast on Thursday that cited diplomatic sources in Washington.
The report also quoted a political observer as saying that in addition to US National Security Adviser John Bolton, there are a number of Taiwan supporters on the White House National Security Council.
When Pompeo emphasized the US’ respect and support for continued support of Taiwan, he might have been “reminding” those that might be considering breaking ties with Taiwan, the report said.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016, five countries have switched diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we