The United States will remove “self-imposed restrictions” on how its diplomats and other officials approach Taiwan, said Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, a move that is likely to ignite tensions with China over One China policy.
“For several decades, the State Department has created complex internal restrictions to regulate the interactions of our diplomats, service members and other officials with their Taiwanese colleagues,” Pompeo said in a statement on Saturday. “No more.”
Pompeo, a frequent critic of China, said the US government had already taken its actions towards Taiwan “in an attempt to appease the communist regime in Beijing”.
Going forward, executive agencies should consider all “contact guidelines” related to relations with Taiwan previously issued by the state to be null and void, he said.
“Today’s statement recognizes that the US-Taiwan relationship does not need, and should not, be handcuffed by self-imposed restrictions on our permanent bureaucracy,” said Pompeo.
Read more: Taiwan’s tightrope
(Adds more of the fourth paragraph statement)