US suspends ‘self-imposed restrictions’ with Taiwan

US suspends ‘self-imposed restrictions’ with Taiwan

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For years, Washington “has created complex internal restrictions to regulate” US officials’ negotiations with Taiwan “in an attempt to appease the Communist regime in Beijing,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Saturday. “Enough,” wrote Pompeo.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory, and US negotiations with the long-democratically governed island are a source of tension.

In a statement, Pompeo, a staunch critic of China, wrote that American diplomats should now regard all previous State Department contact guidelines for relations with Taiwan as “null and void”.

The order comes less than two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden’s administration takes over and will likely be an obstacle for the new team.

The United States has maintained close ties with Taiwan since separating from mainland China in 1949, following the end of a bloody civil war. But until recently, Washington has avoided major demonstrations of friendship in order not to antagonize Beijing, which continues to see the autonomous democracy of some 24 million people as an inseparable part of its territory, according to its One China policy.

China’s leader, President Xi Jinping, was clear in his ambitions to “reunify” the island with the mainland, and refused to rule out the use of force, although the Chinese Communist Party never exercised direct control over Taiwan.
According to One China policy, the United States has unofficial relations with Taiwan and deploys unofficial representatives in Taipei. Washington has long been supplying the island with weapons under the terms of the 40-year-old Taiwan Relations Act.

Rising tensions

Tensions between China and the U.S. over Taiwan have worsened in recent months, when senior Trump administration officials visited the autonomous island. Beijing increased pressure on Taiwan through a series of military exercises and aircraft raids.
In September, Keith Krach, the Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, visited Taiwan, a month after Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar took a trip, apparently to discuss measures to prevent coronavirus, but also in a highly symbolic demonstration of support from the Trump administration to Taipei.

At the time, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the United States and Taiwan should “immediately stop” official exchanges. “China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchange between the United States and Taiwan. This position is consistent and clear,” said Wang.

Pompeo has now authorized American diplomats and other government officials to negotiate with their Taiwan counterparts in the same way that they would negotiate with any other country.

“The United States government maintains relationships with unofficial partners worldwide, and Taiwan is no exception. Our two democracies share common values ​​of individual freedom, the rule of law and respect for human dignity. Today’s statement recognizes that the USA -Taiwan relationship does not need, and should not, be handcuffed by self-imposed restrictions from our permanent bureaucracy, “wrote Pompeo.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft is due to visit Taiwan this week to “reinforce the strong and continued support of the US government for Taiwan’s international space,” Pompeo announced last week.

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