Natalia Chi
The Biden administration has said Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen’s anticipated unofficial stopover in the United States is in line with recent precedent and should not be used as an excuse for Beijing to step up. is issued in advance. Offensive activities in the Taiwan Strait.
In recent weeks, senior U.S. officials in Washington and Beijing have stressed to their Chinese counterparts that visits via the U.S. during extensive international travel by the Taiwanese president have become routine in recent years, according to senior government officials. bottom. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.
But Reuters reported that China’s foreign ministry condemned a possible visit on Tuesday, with spokesman Wang Wenbin saying Beijing had already made a “tough statement” to Washington about it.
Reuters quoted Wang as saying, “We remind the Taiwanese authorities that there is no way out for Taiwan’s independence, and that attempts to provoke and seek independence in collusion with external forces are doomed to failure. I warn you,” he said.
Carlos Garcia Rollins / Reuters
During these recent visits, Tsai met members of Congress and the Taiwanese diaspora, and was welcomed by the president of the American Institute in Taiwan, a US government-run non-profit organization with informal ties to Taiwan.
Tsai delayed international travel after transiting the United States six times between 2016 and 2019. COVID-19 PandemicIn response to these visits, China rhetorically denounced China and Taiwan.
The Biden administration is trying to avoid a repeat of China’s heavy-handed response after then-House Speaker Nancy California Democrat Pelosi visited Taiwan last year.
Following Pelosi’s August visit, Beijing launched missiles over Taiwan, deployed warships across the Taiwan Strait’s center line, and conducted military exercises near the island. Beijing has also suspended climate talks with the United States and restricted military-to-military communications with the Pentagon.
Beijing sees formal U.S. contact with Taiwan as an encouragement to perpetuate the island’s decades of de facto independence, but U.S. leaders do not support the move. It has said. Pelosi was the highest-ranking elected US official to visit Taiwan since Newt Gingrich in 1997. Under the “One China” policy, the United States recognizes Beijing as the government of China and has maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan, although it does not. Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific.
U.S. officials are becoming increasingly concerned about China’s long-term goal of unifying Taiwan with the mainland and the possibility of war over Taiwan. The autonomous island democracy claims Beijing to be part of its territory. The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 governs relations between the United States and the islands and does not require the United States to intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese aggression, but it does allow Taiwan to defend itself and unilaterally It is US policy to reserve resources to prevent status changes. by Beijing.
Challenging US-China relations have become more complicated since Pelosi’s visit.
Last month, President Biden ordered a Chinese spy balloon to be launched from the sky After crossing the US mainland. And the Biden administration has said in recent weeks that US intelligence findings show that China is considering sending weapons to Russia for its ongoing military campaign. war in ukraine However, there is no evidence to suggest that Beijing decided to continue supplying Moscow.
The Biden administration has postponed Secretary of State Anthony Brinken’s planned visit to Beijing in the wake of the balloon controversy, but has suggested it wants to keep such a visit on track.
The White House also said officials are discussing possible visits to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimond to focus on economic issues. Biden also said he plans to hold a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there was still value in “keeping these avenues of communication open.”
President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met in moscow on monday And on Tuesday, the first face-to-face meeting between allies since before Russia launched its invasion more than a year ago.
Taiwan’s government announced earlier this month that President Tsai will be making stops in New York and Southern California during an upcoming extensive overseas trip.
Reuters reported that Presidential Office spokesperson Lin Yu-chang told reporters as part of a trip to Guatemala and Belize that he would pass through New York and Los Angeles before leaving Taipei on March 29 and arriving in April. He said he said he would return on the 7th.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, has said he will meet with Tsai when she is in the United States and has not ruled out the possibility of traveling to Taiwan to show his support. Reuters said Taipei would not allow a meeting with McCarthy.
