The head of diplomacy americanMike Pompeo on Saturday rolled back all restrictions that had been placed over the years on U.S. officials in their dealings with Taiwan.
“The State Department has created complex internal restrictions to regulate the interactions of our diplomats, military personnel and other officials in their dealings with their Taiwanese counterparts.”, said the Secretary of State in a statement.
Symbolic announcement
“The United States had taken these steps unilaterally, to satisfy the Communist regime in Beijing. It’s finish “, he added.
He did not specify the nature of the restrictions and this announcement appears largely symbolic, a 2018 law already authorizing “Officials at all levels of government, including cabinet members in national security positions, the military and other government officials to travel to Taiwan and meet with their Taiwanese counterparts”.
This announcement, which comes less than two weeks before the end of President Donald Trump’s mandate, should nonetheless provoke the fury of Beijing, which sees Taiwan as an integral part of China.
Diplomatic relations with Taipei broken off in 1979
Mr. Pompeo does not go so far as to want to completely normalize relations with Taiwan, a decision over which he has no authority anyway. He indicates that relations with the island will continue to pass through the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private organization that acts as the United States’ embassy in Taipei.
But the American government “Maintains relationships with unofficial partners around the world, and Taiwan is no exception”, he concludes.
Washington severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1979 to recognize Beijing, but the United States passed a law that same year that said it must help Taiwan defend itself in the event of conflict.
Since then, Washington has remained the island’s most powerful ally and its number one arms supplier.
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