High-ranking Taiwanese officials will visit the US next week and hold secret talks with US officials in Washington. A delegation from the US House of Representatives Special Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (US-China Strategic Competition Special Committee) will also visit Taiwan. It seems that the United States and Taiwan are expanding contact at a time when tensions between the two countries have risen as the United States and China are engaged in a war of words over ‘reconnaissance balloons’.
On the 18th (local time), the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and former Taiwan National Security Advisor Wellington would meet with White House National Security Advisor John Finer and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
In addition, a delegation from the US-China Strategic Competition Special Committee led by Congressman Lo Kanna (Democratic California) will visit Taiwan on the 18th, Bloomberg News reported.
During his visit to Taiwan, Rep. Kanna will meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and TSMC founder Maurice Chang. Rep. Khanna, whose constituency is California, where Silicon Valley is located, said, “Most of my interest is in attracting the economy, namely semiconductors and manufacturing, to the region. I will also comment on China’s policy during this visit.”
The talks come amid intensifying tensions between the US and China over reconnaissance balloons. Previously, US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln canceled a scheduled visit to Beijing, China, when the issue of reconnaissance balloons arose.
In this regard, Senator Khanna explained, “This visit was planned in advance, so canceling it could send the wrong message.”
According to a Bloomberg tally, at least 37 US lawmakers visited Taiwan last year, the most in nearly a decade. It is expected that the wave of US congressional support for Taiwan will continue this year as well. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, expressed his intention to visit Taiwan either this year or next year, and Congressman McCall (Republican, Texas) also expressed his intention to join the visit.
If McCarthy visits Taiwan, he will be the third active U.S. House speaker after Newt Gingritz in 1997 and Nancy Pelosi last year. Chairman McCarthy is a representative public hardliner, and as soon as he ascended to the House Speaker position, he set up a special committee for US-China strategic competition to check China.
There are also observations from the Taiwanese side that President Tsai may visit the United States within the year. According to Taiwan’s Free Times, Hwang Je-jeong, head of international affairs at the Nationalist Party of Taiwan, said in an interview with a TV program the day before that President Tsai could visit the United States before leaving office in January next year.
He predicted that President Tsai’s visit to the US would be similar to this, saying, “Former President Ma Ying-jeou also passed through the United States before retiring and gave a speech at his alma mater, Harvard University.”
However, it is unclear whether President Tsai’s visit to the US will be successful. Currently, the White House is pouring out a toned-down rhetoric to calm the US-China conflict over the ‘reconnaissance balloon’.
Taiwan’s president’s visit to the United States is bound to act as a burden to the United States. This is because there is a precedent of former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui and the 3rd Taiwan Strait Crisis.
In June 1995, then-President Lee visited the United States for a speech at his alma mater, Connell University. The Clinton administration tried to deny visa issuance considering the relationship with China, but the US Senate and House of Representatives passed a visa issuance resolution and put pressure on the administration.
After President Lee returned to Taiwan, China fired missiles into the waters around the Taiwan Strait, and the United States dispatched two air groups to counter it. It was the largest force deployed by the United States in East Asia since the Vietnam War, and it suffered an imminent crisis.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.