This content was published on 02 March 2022 – 06:48
Beijing, March 2 (EFE).- A US delegation led by Mike Mullen, former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated that Washington maintains its “commitment” to the island.
Mullen, who arrived on the island Tuesday night along with four other former US officials, commented in a media appearance with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen that the visit is aimed at expressing support for the “continued and growing strength” of the “vital partnership” between the United States and Taiwan.
“I hope we can assure you and your people, as well as our allies and partners in the region, that the United States stands firm on its commitments,” Mullen was quoted as saying by Taiwan’s official CNA news agency.
“Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is not only in the interests of the United States but of the entire world,” he added.
He also assured that the US opposes “any unilateral change in the ‘status quo'” in the Taiwan Strait, an island over which China claims its sovereignty and with which Washington does not officially have diplomatic relations.
Mullen took the opportunity to mention the Russian invasion of Ukraine and highlight that “democrats around the world face alarming challenges.”
On the sidelines of this visit, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, especially critical of Beijing, will also arrive on the island today and will also meet with Tsai and with the Taiwanese Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu.
For her part, Tsai said today that “China’s military threat to the Taiwan Strait and the region continues to increase” and that she hopes to work “even more closely with the US to respond collectively to the challenges and unilateral actions that may affect the security, in order to maintain regional peace and stability”.
China has criticized the United States for sending this delegation to the island, warning that it could “further damage” bilateral relations and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
“We ask Washington to end any kind of official contact with Taipei and handle this matter carefully,” foreign spokesman Wang Wenbin reiterated at the ministry’s latest press conference.
China claims for itself the sovereignty of Taiwan, which it considers a rebellious province for whose reunification it has not ruled out the use of force.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, Beijing sent nearly 1,000 aircraft to what Taipei considers its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in 2021, a figure that represents roughly triple the incursions recorded in 2020, when the island began carrying a count of them.
The island is also one of the main sources of conflict between China and the United States, mainly because Washington is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and its main ally in the event of a war with Beijing. EFE
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