As US confronts China on trade, Taiwan tensions quietly build
Several US lawmakers pledged greater military support for Taiwan during visits to the Shangri-La gathering in Singapore
Even as defence ministers and military chiefs meeting in Singapore called out China for parking missiles on outposts in the disputed South China Sea, a bigger potential China-related hotspot looms.
Concern about Taiwan – and recent sparring between Beijing and Washington over the democratically run island – percolated discussions at the annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, which was otherwise focused on action further south. US Secretary of Defence James Mattis warned China against disrupting the “status quo” on Taiwan, as Beijing steps up air-and-sea manoeuvres nearby and accelerates efforts to isolate Taipei.
Taiwan’s advocates in Washington have intensified calls for more US support as President Donald Trump confronts China on a range of trade and security issues. The stakes in Taiwan are even higher than in the oft-discussed South China Sea, since China considers the island of 23 million people to be a renegade province.
Several US lawmakers pledged greater military support for Taiwan during visits to the Shangri-La gathering, where some had arrived after stopovers in Taipei. Taiwan had only an unofficial presence at the meeting, represented by two people.
US House Armed Services Committee chairman Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican, called China’s recent actions on Taiwan “concerning” in an interview on Saturday with Bloomberg.