The United States will boost trade with Taiwan and fly and sail through the strait

A senior US official said Friday that the United States will boost trade with Taiwan and make new air and sea crossings across the strait separating the island from mainland China, in response to “provocative” actions by Beijing.

Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, said an “ambitious roadmap” on trade relations would be issued “in a few days”, while US forces would cross the Taiwan Strait “in the coming weeks.”

Adviser to President Joe Biden said that Beijing took advantage of the recent and controversial visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to try to change the current situation regarding the island, which China claims as part of its territory. .

Campbell said Pelosi’s visit, the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in years, was “in line” with Washington’s current policy, noting that China had “overreacted.”

He said Beijing used this pretext to “launch an intense campaign of pressure on Taiwan to try to change the status quo and endanger peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region in general.”

Campbell said China’s actions “remain provocative, destabilizing and unprecedented”.

The voltage between the forces

After Pelosi’s visit, Beijing launched multi-day air and sea exercises around Taiwan. In response, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to the region.

Campbell said the Biden administration will “continue to deepen” its relations with Taiwan, including by continuing to strengthen economic and trade ties.

He said that US forces “will continue to fly, sail or operate where international law permits,” without specifying the nature of the deployment in the strait or when it would be.

On China’s recent decision to stop cooperating with Washington on major issues such as combating climate change, Campbell said they have and will maintain “open lines of communication with Beijing.”

The Taiwanese government applauded the US announcement.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “sincere appreciation” for his “concrete actions to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait and peace in the region.”