US Navy Admiral Michael Studman visits Taiwan as Trump strengthens ties before leaving admin

11/23/2020 Health, Technology, World


Sources identified the officer as Navy Rear Admiral Michael Studdman, a top military intelligence officer at US Indo-Pacific Command. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it welcomed the visit but would not provide details as the itinerary had not been announced.
Under the presidency of President Donald Trump, Washington has stepped up its engagement with Shingt, especially during the last 12 months. The Trump administration has authorized billions of dollars worth of arms sales on the self-governing island, and, in August, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azhar became the first senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan in decades.

Improved relations with Taiwan came as the U.S. stepped up pressure on China and sought to build an anti-Beijing alliance in the region, especially as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took a hard line on the issue.

In another convincing move to anger Chinese leaders, the U.S. welcomed the deported Tibetan head of government to the White House over the weekend, although he did not meet with senior officials.
Beijing recognized Taiwan as part of its territory, even though it was never controlled by the Communist Party, and the island has been ruled separately since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised Taiwan to rejoin mainland China, if necessary by force and in recent months has seen more aggressive measures by the Chinese military.

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Zhao Lijian said Beijing “strongly opposes all kinds of official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan … so as not to undermine the peace and stability of Taiwan’s seabed and Sino-US cooperation in key areas.”

Under the new economic dialogue, Zhao And a series of high-level meetings between Taiwanese officials. Over the weekend, they signed a number of agreements on future cooperation in the areas of health, technology and safety, although the meeting stopped approving new trade deals.

“Our economic partnership with Taiwan is only getting stronger, based on our shared commitment to free markets, the rule of law and transparency,” US State Department spokeswoman Caley Brown said on Twitter.

While the officers were meeting, the US Navy made a warship voyage through the Taiwan Strait, the first post-election transport, which the Navy said “demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

When the U.S. While ships regularly transport the Strait, China sees the strategic waterway separating it from Taiwan as a priority area, and they often cast shadows when traveling by foreign ships.

Shaping Biden’s policy

Just as President Trump has largely lost public engagement in the wake of his election losses to Biden, Pompeo has remained very active, traveling around the world and maintaining pressure on China, which he says has led the U.S. Has been described as a “central threat”.
In a speech a week after the election, Pompeo said facing the “China Challenge” meant “no more illegal claims in the South China Sea, no more pressure and co-operation on American businesses, no more consulates used as espionage fines.” Theft of intellectual property, and fundamental human rights violations should not be ignored. And the atrocities committed by the (Communist) Party in Xinjiang, Tibet and other places will not be tolerated. “
Writing on Twitter On Saturday, Pompeo praised the economic meetings between the US and Taiwan, saying the two governments were “strong partners in protecting independence, advancing economic ties and promoting our shared democratic values.”
It remains to be seen exactly how Biden will engage with President China – many analysts expect the new administration to maintain a tight line in some areas, while avoiding the kind of firefighting rhetoric and posture that characterizes time in Trump’s office.

During a Democratic primary in February, Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “thug” and said Beijing would have to “follow the rules.” In an announcement of the Biden campaign in June, Trump accused it of being “played” by China.

The Democratic Party Platform Document, which was released on August 20, 2020, focuses on China. During the last presidential campaign in 2016, the document made only seven references to China. There were more than 22 in this year’s edition.

“The Democrats will be clear, strong and consistent in moving forward where we have deep economic, security and human rights concerns about the actions of the Chinese government,” the 2020 platform said.

Biden also has a history of support for Taiwan, both as a senator and after leaving office. In January, she congratulated Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on her election.

This did not deter some Chinese Hawks, as well as Chinese dissidents and Hong Kong and Taiwan independence supporters, fearing that the Biden administration would soften with Beijing. Recent actions by Pompeo and others may be aimed at forcing the administration to step in, making it difficult to reverse some policies once policies are in place.

The head of the Central Tibetan Administration, Lobsang, and the CTA's top envoy in Washington, Nagodap Tsaring, appear inside the White House compound on November 21, 2020.
The visit of Lobsang Sange, head of the India-based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), to the White House on Saturday is the second such move. No leader of the Tibetan government in exile has visited the building in 60 years, the CTA said in a statement.

Pompeo accused Beijing of violating human rights in Tibet in July, drawing attention to growing restrictions on religion, language and culture in the region, which has been controlled by China since the 1950s. Trump and Washington have insisted on “meaningful autonomy” for Tibet, as has Beijing. Condemns statements such as promoting “splitism”.

The CTA said in a statement that the reason for refusing to admit its officials to the White House and the US State Department was “that the US government does not recognize the Tibetan government in exile.”

“Today’s visit is tantamount to acknowledging both the CTA’s democratic system and its political head,” the statement added. “(This) unprecedented meeting will set an optimistic tone for the CTA’s partnership with American officials and will be formalized in the coming years.”

CNN No. Ben Westcott and Isaac Ye contributed to the reporting.

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