TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan and the United States signed their first agreement under the Biden government, establishing a Coast Guard Task Force to coordinate the policy, after a law passed by China that allows its coast guard to fire on foreign ships .
The new government of US President Joe Biden has acted to reassure Taiwan that the Chinese have said their commitment to the island is rock solid.
Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim, signed the deal in Washington on Thursday, his office said in a statement.
“We hope that, with the new Coast Guard Working Group, both sides will forge a stronger partnership and jointly contribute even more to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
The acting US Deputy Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Sung Kim, was at the signing ceremony, the office said.
The American Institute in Taiwan, which deals with US ties to the island, said the United States supports “Taiwan’s significant participation and contributions to issues of global interest, including maritime security and protection.”
Taiwan is upgrading its coast guard with new ships, which can be called up for naval service in the event of war, as the island deals with increasing invasions of Chinese fishing boats and sand dredgers in Taiwan-controlled waters.
Although the United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it is the island’s most important international financier and arms supplier.
China passed a law in January that, for the first time, explicitly allows its coast guard to shoot foreign ships, causing concern both regionally and in Washington. China rejected these concerns.
Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said on Friday that China’s new law shocked the region and that those with “common values” need to work together to protect peace.
“This unilateral request to use coastguard force will cause great tension and pressure in neighboring countries,” he told reporters.
China also has maritime sovereignty disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard