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Beijing has reacted furiously to sending a high-ranking diplomat to visit autonomous Taiwan, which it considers its territory, warning that it will give a “necessary response.”
US Under Secretary of State Keith Krach arrived in Taipei on Thursday afternoon and is the highest-ranking State Department official to visit the island in 41 years. Beijing said the visit violated the US one-China policy and the “three communiqués” that form the basis of US-China ties.
Adding to Beijing’s ire was a meeting the previous day between the US ambassador to the United Nations and Taiwan’s top envoy in New York.
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Accompanied by Robert Destro, undersecretary of state, and a small group of other officials, Krach arrived at the Taipei military airport in a civilian plane instead of a US government plane, as Alex Azar did a month ago. The visit of Azar, the secretary of health and human services, also sparked a strong protest from Beijing.
Krach, undersecretary for economic growth, energy and environment, will attend a memorial service for former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, known as the island’s “father of democracy” on Saturday. He is also expected to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Friday, according to the island’s Foreign Ministry.
The American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in the absence of formal ties, confirmed that Krach would attend the service. “The United States honors the legacy of President Lee by continuing our strong ties with Taiwan and its vibrant democracy through shared political and economic values,” AIT said in a statement.
Taiwanese media reported that Krach would visit the island to lead the Washington team in a new economic dialogue between the United States and Taiwan that was announced after Tsai agreed to lift the ban on American pork and beef. But no trade talks are mentioned in the AIT statement. And Foreign Minister Wu said on Thursday only that Krach would exchange views with top Taiwanese economic officials and business leaders on what should be included in the dialogue.
Beijing called the trip provocative and threatened to retaliate.
“The Chinese side resolutely opposes any form of official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, and this has been our clear position,” mainland Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.
He said that by sending Krach to Taiwan, the United States had challenged the one-China policy and the “three communiqués” agreed upon by the two parties.
“The move has not only encouraged separatist forces on the island, but has also damaged relations and stability between China and the United States in the Taiwan Strait,” Wang said. “China will provide the necessary response according to the development of the situation “.
Relations between Beijing and Washington have been worsened by Taiwan, but also by the coronavirus pandemic, trade, human rights, the South China Sea and a host of other issues.
Meanwhile, America’s ties with Taiwan have heated up, and a lunch in New York the day before Krach’s visit is likely to have further enraged Beijing.
The US ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft, called her meeting with Taiwanese envoy James Lee “historic” and one more step in Washington’s campaign to strengthen relations with the island.
“I am seeking to do the right thing on the part of my president, and I feel that he has sought to strengthen and deepen this bilateral relationship with Taiwan and I want to continue that on behalf of the administration,” he told the Associated Press.
Two PLA Y-8 anti-submarine jets briefly entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Wednesday. Photo: Brochure
A plan by the United States to sell up to seven major weapons systems, including mines, cruise missiles and drones, to Taiwan, reported by Reuters on Wednesday, is expected to increase tensions.
Albert Chiu Shih-yi, a political science professor at Tunghai University in Taichung, said Krach’s visit would be “more symbolic than any practical substance.”
But combined with the New York meeting and new arms sales, it could be an insult to Beijing at the height of US President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, he said.
“This could backfire,” Chiu said, adding that Taipei must act carefully to avoid inflaming the situation.
Tensions are already rising. The night before Krach’s visit, two People’s Liberation Army fighter jets approached Taiwan in another sortie that indicated growing mainland hostility toward the island.
The PLA Y-8 antisubmarine plane briefly entered the island’s air defense identification zone southwest on Wednesday night and was warned by the Taiwanese air force, the island’s defense ministry said on Thursday.
Last week, multiple warplanes approached the same area in what Tsai called a serious provocation that would escalate cross-strait tensions and affect regional peace and stability.
This article warns Beijing that it will give a ‘necessary response’ to a US diplomat’s visit to Taiwan first appeared in the South China Morning Post.
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