Regarding China’s deployment of warships around Taiwan in protest of a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the US government expressed its position that “China should choose diplomacy over pressure.”
“We urge China to end its military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan and engage in meaningful diplomacy,” said U.S. State Department chief spokesperson Vedant Patel at a regular briefing on the 6th (local time).
“We are committed to maintaining open dialogue channels (with China) to reduce the risk of misjudgment,” Patel said.
While acknowledging that a difference in perception exists between the US and China regarding Taiwan, he said the two superpowers had managed the situation for 40 years.
Previously, on the 5th, President Tsai met with US Congressmen, including Speaker McCarthy, at the Ronald Reagan Library in California.
It is the highest-level meeting between the two countries on U.S. territory since the U.S. severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979. The Speaker of the House is the third most powerful person in the United States. The Chinese government strongly protested, citing a ‘red line’ to the top-level talks.
Spokesman Patel argued that Taiwan’s president’s transit through the United States was a precedent and that “there is no need to use this as an excuse for overreacting.”
When asked if he had any plans to get China to cooperate on the North Korean issue, he said, “We have consistently stated that China has the responsibility to persuade North Korea to stop its dangerous, reckless and unstable behavior.”
White House National Security Council (NSC) Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby also responded to a question about China’s role in North Korea that day, saying, “We know that China exercises influence over North Korea.” “I have long asked for this to be used to do the right thing and to sit down with us without preconditions and deal with the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a diplomatic solution,” he said.
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.