China strongly condemned America on Monday after Washington deleted from the State Department’s website an important reference to Taiwan’s status. Beijing summoned the US side to “correct its mistakes” and warned the move could ramp up tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan, a democratic island that China asserts as its own, has long been a source of contention in US-China relations. While the US does not diplomatically recognize Taiwan, it is its principal security partner. The latest controversy arose because the State Department quietly removed a sentence from its fact sheet which previously stated, “We do not support Taiwan independence.”
Taipei welcomed the change well, calling it a “friendly and positive” step. Washington’s de facto embassy in Taiwan called the amendment a “routine update.” However, the switch in language has drawn an ireful response from Beijing.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian criticized the US for sending “seriously wrong signals” to Taiwan’s pro-independence forces. “This will only harm peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Zhu, in a statement, claimed Taiwan to be an indivisible component of China.
“No one is capable of changing that there exists only one China regardless of Taiwan and the US attempts,” she added.
Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan over the past few years, including military drills near the island and diplomatic isolation. The return of US President Donald Trump has meanwhile disrupted the tenuous status quo. Trump has suggested that Taiwan would have to pay the US for its protection and has linked the island to America’s woes of the semiconductor industry.
As the tensions heighten, experts are forecasting that any realignment in US policy towards Taiwan will tend to encourage more Chinese diplomatic and military assertiveness in the region.
