China-US ties ‘strained by Washington’s mixed signals over Taiwan’, but Mattis trip still on
Pentagon chief expected to visit Beijing despite criticising China at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore
The Pentagon’s decision to increase its military support for Taiwan is likely to intensify the strategic rivalry between mainland China and the United States, even as sources say US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis’s highly anticipated trip to Beijing is still set to go ahead.
According to Chinese military observers, the US has been sending mixed signals regarding its Taiwan policy. On one hand it seems unlikely Washington will send any of its senior officials to attend the opening on June 12 of its new de facto embassy in Taipei to avoid angering Beijing, yet it is still considering plans to send warships through the Taiwan Strait and boost its arm sales to the self-ruled island.
Amid that confusion, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan told the South China Morning Post that Mattis would visit Beijing sometime this year.
A second source, who is also close to the issue, confirmed that preparations for Mattis’ trip were being made by both sides.
At a regional security summit in Singapore over the weekend, the defence chief took a hard line on China. He not only criticised Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea, but also pledged the United States’ continued commitment to Taiwan by providing “defence articles and services necessary to maintain the island’s sufficient self-defence”.