Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met on Wednesday, in a rare high-level, bipartisan meeting on US soil. Risking China's anger, they stood side by side at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, acknowledging China's threats against the island government but only spoke of maintaining the long-standing US policy. The meeting focused on Taiwan's self-defense, fostering robust trade and economic ties, and supporting the island government's ability to participate in the international community. Tsai said the unwavering support reassures the people of Taiwan that they are not isolated. However, the meeting's formal trappings, and the senior rank of some elected officials in the delegation from Congress, threatened to run afoul of China's position that any interaction between the US and Taiwanese officials is a challenge to China's claim of sovereignty over the island.
Background
The United States broke off official ties with Taiwan in 1979 while formally establishing diplomatic relations with the Beijing government. The US acknowledges a “one-China” policy in which Beijing lays claim to Taiwan, but it does not endorse China’s claim to the island and remains Taiwan’s key provider of military and defense assistance. China has reacted to past trips by Taiwanese presidents through the US and past trips to Taiwan by senior US officials with shows of military force. After then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last August, China responded with its largest live-fire drills in decades, including firing a missile over the island.
The meeting between Tsai and McCarthy
The meeting between Tsai and McCarthy focused on Taiwan's self-defense, fostering robust trade and economic ties, and supporting the island government's ability to participate in the international community. They made no mention of calls from hard-liners in and out of Congress for a greater US commitment to Taiwan's defense if China should attack. The meeting was a bipartisan one, and McCarthy emphasized that U.S.-Taiwan ties are stronger than at any other point in his life.
China's reaction
China reacted sharply to Tsai's visit, urging the US not to walk further down the wrong and dangerous road. China also warned of "resolute and forceful measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity." Chinese vessels have started a joint patrol and inspection operation in the central and northern waters of the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday evening that it had also tracked the Chinese Army's Shandong aircraft carrier passing through the Bashi Strait, to Taiwan's southeast.
Conclusion
Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with Kevin McCarthy is a rare and significant one, and a clear signal of US support for Taiwan. However, the meeting's formal trappings, and the senior rank of some elected officials in the delegation from Congress, threatens to run afoul of China's position that any interaction between the US and Taiwanese officials is a challenge to China's claim of sovereignty over the island. China's response will be watched closely, and there is a risk of further tensions between China and the US over Taiwan.
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