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US plan for ‘highest level’ Taiwan visit in decades angers China

Published : Thursday, 6 August, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 395

TAIPEI, Aug 5: US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar will visit Taiwan in coming days, his office said on Tuesday, making the highest-level visit by a U.S. official in four decades - a move that angered China, which claims the island as its own.
The US secretary of Health and Human Services is scheduled to visit Taiwan in coming days in the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei in 1979.
The visit by Alex Azar, and especially a planned meeting with Taiwan's president, will likely create new friction between the US and China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary. Taiwan is a key irritant in the troubled relationship between the world's two largest economies, which are also at odds over trade, technology, territorial claims in the South China Sea and China's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The US maintains only unofficial ties with Taiwan in deference to Beijing, but is the island's most important ally and provider of defense equipment. The American Institute in Taiwan, which operates as Washington's de facto embassy on the island, said Wednesday that Azar's "historic visit will strengthen the U.S.-Taiwan partnership and enhance US-Taiwan cooperation to combat the global Covid-19 pandemic."
China denounced the trip, saying it opposed any official interactions between the United States and Taiwan and had lodged "stern representations" with Washington.
"We urge the US to abide by the one-China principle... to avoid seriously endangering Sino-US relations, as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Wang Wenbin, a spokesman of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979. It remains the leading arms supplier to the island, but has historically been cautious in holding official contacts with it.
Taiwan's foreign ministry has confirmed the trip and said Azar would meet President Tsai Ing-wen. Neither side said when the trip would happen in their statements.
Taiwan is not a member because of Chinese objections; Beijing considers the island merely one of China's provinces. Taiwan has denounced Chinese efforts to block its access, though Beijing says the island has been given the help it needs.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a new law in March requiring increased support for Taiwan's international role. China threatened unspecified retaliation in response.
The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, having ditched Taipei in favour of Beijing in 1979, but is its main arms supplier and strongest backer on the international stage.    -AFP









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