US State Department official to visit Taiwan in bid to boost ties in Pacific
- Sandra Oudkirk will arrive in Taipei on Monday in effort to shore up support for Taipei in the region
- It comes after two of the island’s few remaining diplomatic allies switched allegiance to Beijing last month
Sandra Oudkirk, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, will arrive in Taipei on Monday to discuss bolstering Taiwan’s ties in the Pacific, Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien said at a briefing on Saturday.
The latest US display of support for the democratically ruled island comes in the face of rising pressure from Beijing. The Solomon Islands and Kiribati, lured by mainland China’s US$1.6 billion spending spree on aid and loans in the region, switched their diplomatic ties to Beijing in September, leaving just 15 countries that recognise Taiwan as a nation.
China’s growing reach in the Pacific is a concern for the US and ally Australia. Diplomats in Washington and Canberra fear Beijing plans to establish a Pacific Islands naval base that would greatly enhance its ability to hamper US military access in the Western Pacific.
In his speech marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his government’s determination to gain control over Taiwan, saying unification was an “inevitable trend”.
While Taiwan has never been ruled by the People’s Republic, Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and demands all countries first sever formal ties with Taipei as a precondition for establishing diplomatic relations with mainland China.
