Editorial | US troops in Taiwan take tensions to an even higher level
- The admission by Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen has put the island on a more dangerous course and further risks confrontation with Beijing
The White House has had to clarify remarks by contending that there has been no change in Washington’s policy. But there is no mistaking the dangerous turn events have taken with the admission by Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen that American troops are stationed on the self-governed island.
Washington’s relations with Beijing are bound by a policy that there is only one China. The US does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but through a long-standing approach of “strategic ambiguity” under which it is legally obliged to support the island’s self-defence, mainly through arms sales.
Tsai’s confirmation that ties now involve hosting US troops takes the matter to a new level. That is even more so given Biden has twice said in the past three months the US will defend Taiwan if mainland forces attack.
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China urges US President Joe Biden to act cautiously over Taiwan, warns ‘no room for compromise’
Tsai echoed Biden’s remarks in an interview on Wednesday, elaborating that Taiwan had a “wide range of cooperation with the US aimed at increasing our defence capability”. She said Washington was training Taiwanese forces, but would not be drawn on the number of military personnel deployed to the island.
