WASHINGTON - The United States will boost trade with Taiwan in response to China's provocative behaviour, the White House said on Friday, August 13 as it insisted on the right of air and sea passage through the tense strait.
Kurt Campbell, White House coordinator for Asia-Pacific issues and an adviser to President Joe Biden, said a new trade plan will be unveiled within a few days, while the US forces will transit the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks.
The statement came after Beijing raged last week at the trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which launched its largest-ever military drills around the self-ruled island.
Taiwan accused China of using the visit by Pelosi, the highest-ranking elected American official to visit in decades, as an excuse to kickstart drills that Taipei called a rehearsal for invasion.
China views Taiwan as its own territory and will be seized by force if necessary.
Campbell said Pelosi's visit was consistent with Washington's existing policy and that China had overreacted. He said that Beijing used a pretext to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan to try to change the status quo, jeopardising peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region.
China has overreacted and its actions continue to be provocative, destabilizing and unprecedented. In response to China's drills, the United States is reasserting its involvement in the area, while recognizing China diplomatically while supporting Taiwan's self-rule.