The major US minister to Taiwan on Wednesday stated that the country is “rock-solid, principled, and bipartisan” and that Washington will continue to follow through on its pledges to make sure the area can protect itself from threats from China.
The comments made by Raymond F. Greene on Wednesday come at a time when there are questions about China’s intentions regarding the area it claims to have as its own place and when conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East threaten to enrage the US more.
Greene made it clear that Taiwan was top of mind, particularly the important Taiwan Strait, which divides China from the area.
According to Greene, the US will” continue to maintain the capacity to endure any recourse to pressure or other types of force against Taiwan,” making reference to the Taiwan Relations Act, which provided for support after Washington normalized ties with the Socialist government in Beijing in 1979.
According to Greene, the Executive Branch has been notified of around$ 38.4 billion in foreign military selling to Taiwan since 2010, including over$ 6.4 billion under the Biden administration, as well as the relative of$ 345 million in arms transfers from existing US companies.
Taiwan is expanding its regional arms output, including boats and anti-landing and earth to air weapons, while upgraded and brand-new F-16 jet combatants, Abrams tanks, and other products are available or in development.
Greene, a senior American diplomat, joined the American Institute in Taiwan two months ago, making him the island’s 23.5 million-strong island with strong commercial, cultural, and political ties to the US.
When US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan traveled to China last week, the main issue was Taiwan, aiming to maintain communication in a relationship that has become increasingly tense in recent years.
Sullivan met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and a top general from the Central Military Commission on his first visit to China as the main adviser to President Joe Biden on national security issues.
Danny Russel, a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York and former member of the Obama administration’s national security council, said the meeting between Sullivan and Xi was crucial because the Chinese leadership perceived Sullivan as a “direct extension” of the US president and because Sullivan’s messages were viewed as” coming straight from ( President Joe ) Biden.
Sullivan also met one of China’s vice chairs of the Central Military Commission, Gen. Zhang Youxia, last week- a rare meeting with a visiting US official.
Without providing specific details on what the false narratives are, China demands that the US stop military collusion between the US and Taiwan, stop arming Taiwan, and stop spreading false stories about Taiwan.
A White House statement said the two had “recognized the progress in sustained, regular military-military communications over the past 10 months”. On Taiwan, the US statement said only that Sullivan had raised the importance of cross-Strait peace and stability.
After senior US lawmaker Nancy Pelosi, then-House Speaker, traveled to Taiwan in August 2022, China suspended communication between the two militaries. Talks only gradually resumed more than a year later when Xi and Biden met outside of San Francisco in November.
The US has long been a cheerleader for Taiwan’s lively democracy, which stands in stark contrast to China’s authoritarian state. However, Greene stated that Washington would not comment on the allegations of corruption and power abuse that former Taipei mayor and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je have been the subject of in recent months.
