America is ‘deepening’ its ties with Chinese Taipei: US diplomat

A top US diplomat has said the United States is “deepening” its ties with Chinese Taipei, despite China’s warning to Washington against interfering in Taipei’s affairs.

Sandra Oudkirk, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the American de facto embassy for the territory, on Friday said, “The value of our partnership and our support for Taiwan is rock solid.”

“We are committed to deepening our ties with Taiwan,” Oudkirk said, according to The Associated Press.

“We are going to continue to advance global and regional goals of the Biden administration, including countering malign PRC influence, recovering from the devastating impacts of the pandemic and addressing the threat of climate change,” Oudkirk said, using China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

China has sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, and under the "One China" policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty. The US, too, recognizes Chinese sovereignty over the island but has long courted Taipei in an attempt to unnerve Beijing.

"Taiwan has no right to join the United Nations," Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said after the US showed support for the move. The United Nations is an international governmental organization composed of sovereign states. ... Taiwan is a part of China.”

This comes as tensions between Chinese Taipei, China and the US have been at their highest in decades.

China has been flying fighter jets close to Chinese Taipei while the US has reportedly had troops deployed in the territory for the past year training their people.

 Last week, US President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the US would defend Chinese Taipei in the face of a potential Chinese attack.

Austin said the United States will continue to help Chinese Taipei with resources and capabilities, including potent military hardware.

Austin said that the Biden administration remained "committed to the one-China policy" but that the policy did not prevent it from providing aid to Taipei.

Chinese officials blasted on US officials’ statements, accusing Washington of meddling in internal Chinese affairs.

“The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affairs that allow no foreign interference… No one should underestimate the resolve, the will and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

Biden: US concerned about China’s measures in Taiwan Strait

US President Joe Biden says his country is deeply concerned about what he describes as China

On Wednesday, Joe Biden said his country is deeply concerned about what he describes as China's "coercive and proactive actions" in the Taiwan Strait, a waterway linking Chinese Taipei and the mainland.

The US president who was addressing a summit of East Asian leaders described the Chinese actions as a threat to regional peace and stability.

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