China has reiterated that the Taiwan issue is at the center of its fundamental interests and is the first red line that should not be crossed in relations with Washington. After the meeting of the Taiwanese leader with the speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy and in response to what the Asian giant considers acts of collusion, Beijing announced that it is preparing to inspect cargo ships and other vessels in the course of a three-day “special joint patrol” in the Taiwan Strait.
Taipei protested this deployment, which, it says, includes “on-site inspections” of cargo ships. It also advised shipping companies to refuse boarding or inspection and alert the Taiwanese coast guard, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the island’s Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Despite threats of reprisals and relentless Chinese criticism, the Taiwanese president met with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives in California on Wednesday for a dialogue apparently devoid of concrete results but loaded with symbolism, at a time when Washington and Taipei appear poised to normalize high-level bilateral interactions.
This trip has dealt a new blow to the deterioration of relations between the powers. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again accused Washington of “seriously infringing on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China” and of “crossing the line, acting provocatively on matters such as official exchanges, arms sales and military dealings”.
He The Chinese government condemned the visit as a “serious violation of the one-China principle” and again intensified its military presence near the island. self-governed, deploying a carrier battle group near Taiwan’s southeastern waters, as well as a formation of maritime law enforcement vessels in the north-central part of the Taiwan Straits.
Following her interview with a bipartisan group of US lawmakers, including McCarthy, Tsai told reporters at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles that the “unwavering support” coming from Washington “reassures the Taiwanese people by assure you that we are not alone”.
“It is no secret that the peace we have kept and the democracy we have worked so hard to build are facing unprecedented challenges today,” he said, stressing the need to stay united and strong.
For his part, McCarthy, the most senior US politician to meet a Taiwanese leader on US soil since Washington switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979, also stressed the importance of the strong ties between the two sides.
Noting that support for Taiwan was bipartisan, the California lawmaker stressed the need for the United States to continue arms sales to Taiwan and “make sure that those sales reach the island in a timely manner“. He also affirmed the need to strengthen its economic cooperation with the island, especially in terms of trade and technology.
The meeting was part of Taipei’s renewed “transit diplomacy” following the relaxation of COVID-related travel restrictions. Before landing in California, the Taiwanese leader made a stopover in New York and visited Belize and Guatemala, two of her few remaining official diplomatic partners.
With this meeting, Tsai, who will leave office next year after two terms, has shown to the national public, ahead of the presidential elections in January, that his ruling Democratic Progressive Party has strengthened American support. This ability is seen as an important indicator of leadership competition among the Taiwanese public, especially after Taipei lost diplomatic recognition to Honduras, which last month decided to align itself with Beijing.