Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is lifting restrictions on contacts between American and Taiwanese officials, a welcome move by Taiwan, but labeled by some observers as an advertising ploy likely to irritate China.
The announcement was made on Saturday night, just 11 days before the departure of President Donald Trump, whose foreign relations were defined by increased hostilities with Beijing.
In a statement, Pompeo said that the US State Department imposed itself complex internal restrictions “in an attempt to appease the Communist regime in Beijing”, and now he is suspending all of them.
The guidelines included restrictions on where representatives could gather and limited ranks with permission to attend Taiwan’s national day celebrations. They also said that the United States should not refer to Taiwan as a “country” or “government”.
The Chinese Communist Party never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing considers it a rebellious province that must be forcibly returned, if necessary. He says Taiwanese government leaders, who say the island is a sovereign state, are separatists.
Beijing says Taiwan’s status is the most sensitive issue in its relationship with the United States. The United States has no formal diplomatic ties to Taiwan, but for decades it has operated under legislation that requires the US to provide support to Taiwan, including arms sales, in its resistance to Chinese pressure.
The unofficial Taiwanese embassy in Washington, the Taipei Office of Economic and Cultural Representation, said the US action showed the “strength and depth” of the US’s relations with Taiwan.
“Decades of discrimination removed,” said Taiwan’s US representative, Bi-khim Hsiao, on Twitter. “A great day in our bilateral relationship. I will value every opportunity. “
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu thanked Pompeo for lifting the “unnecessarily limiting” restrictions. “The closest partnership between Taiwan and the United States is firmly based on our shared values, common interests and unwavering belief in freedom and democracy,” he said.
The recent US administrations have followed the guidelines less and less, and the official change was not unexpected. The Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 noted that the self-imposed restrictions “resulted in insufficient high-level communication” and required a 180-day review and a reissue of the guidelines.
Gerrit van der Wees, a former Taiwan diplomat and commentator who teaches Taiwan history at George Mason University, said a bipartisan Congressional coalition has been pushing for “welcome” changes for several years.
“The guidelines were initiated in 1978, when the United States broke off relations with the Chinese nationalist government, as it still claimed sovereignty over China,” he said. “However, after Taiwan became a vibrant democracy, the relationship has fundamentally changed and the guidelines have come to be seen as increasingly anachronistic when dealing with a democratic partner who faces an aggressive and belligerent neighbor.”
Other observers welcomed Pompeo’s announcement with skepticism, suggesting that it was just another step by the government since the election to antagonize China and make things difficult for Biden.
“You can argue about the merits of politics, but Pompeo did this 11 days before a power transition and apparently without consulting his successor,” Thomas Wright, senior member of the Brookings Institute, told the Guardian.
Wright rejected comments by senior state department official in the region, David Stilwell, to the Financial Times denying that the decision was hasty.
“The only conclusion to be drawn is that his motive is political – to push Biden into an impasse with China in his first weeks … or to reverse his decision, which he will happily portray as bland with China.”
Jessica Drun, a non-resident fellow at Project 2049, a security-focused study group in the Asia-Pacific region, said there was nothing inherently wrong with the substance of Pompeo’s announcement.
“The apparent lack of coordination with the next government and the abrupt announcement against the backdrop of domestic political turmoil, however, can set a dangerous precedent for making Taiwan a party issue in the United States,” she said.
“The United States’ policy towards Taiwan – as imperfect as some may find it – has endured and has benefited from consistent support from both sides of the corridor, and a deliberate move to undermine that puts Taiwan in the throes of party whims.”
A spokesman for Biden’s transition team told the Financial Times that the new president was “committed to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act”, which defined relations between the two governments, and the policy of a US China. .
“Once in office, he will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues according to the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan,” said the spokesman.
Last week, Pompeo announced a last-minute visit to Taiwan next week by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, to meet with Taiwanese leaders. The announcement prompted China to warn on Thursday that the Trump administration was playing with fire.