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TAIPEI (BLOOMBERG) – Taiwan hopes to repeat a convention-breaking phone call with the incoming US president, defying warnings from China.
The Taiwanese government is in talks about arranging a phone call between President Tsai Ing-wen and US President-elect Joe Biden, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told lawmakers in Taipei on Thursday ( 12th of November).
“On the subject of congratulating the president-elect of the United States, we will do so in the most appropriate way,” Wu said. “We are communicating about this. We are considering various ways, including a phone call, to congratulate the new president.”
Four years ago, Donald Trump received a congratulatory call from Ms Tsai, the first time a U.S. president-elect spoke to a Taiwanese head of state since Washington severed ties with Taipei in 1979.
The Chinese government, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory despite never having controlled the island, dismissed the call as a trick.
When asked by lawmakers if Biden’s refusal to take Ms Tsai’s call would represent a diplomatic setback for Taiwan, Wu said any call would not affect the health of ties with the United States.
Tsai was one of the first to congratulate Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their electoral victory and said in a tweet that she looked forward to working together to further strengthen relations and contributions between the United States and Taiwan to international society.
Biden’s acceptance or denial of a phone call with Ms Tsai will go a long way in clarifying whether he plans to continue the Trump administration’s tough stance on China, or to show greater deference to Chinese sensibilities, especially in his dealings with Taipei.
While Biden offered to deepen ties with Taiwan last month, he stopped short of offering details on which parts of Trump-era policies in China he would change.
He spoke with the leaders of Japan and South Korea on Thursday and assured them of his commitment to maintaining security alliances with both countries. While the United States does not formally recognize Taiwan as a country, Washington is the democratic island’s main security backer against the continuing invasion threats from Beijing.
Last week, the Trump administration agreed to sell four Reaper drones to Taiwan, the latest of nearly $ 5 billion (S $ 6.7 billion) of military sales announced in recent weeks designed to make Chinese strategists think twice. before trying to capture the island.
The sales come as China’s air force continues to mount pressure on Taiwan, with regular stays at the island’s Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ.
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