China watches for changes to US’ Taiwan policy after Kurt Campbell’s comments

A ‘lack of transparency has made the PLA doubt whether Washington will adjust its strategic ambiguity over the Taiwan issue’, military source says

Despite tensions, both sides appear to have scaled back their provocative actions in the region, adviser to Beijing says

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Political tensions have hampered the PLA’s efforts to maintain good communication links with the US military, a source says. Photo: US Navy

Published: 6:00am, 7 May 2021Updated: 6:23am, 7 May 2021

China will be watching closely for any changes to America’s policy on Taiwan after the White House’s top Asia official rejected calls for the US to issue a clear statement of willingness to defend Taiwan in the event of the island coming under attack from Beijing, observers said.

The People’s Liberation Army had paid close attention to remarks made on Tuesday by Kurt Campbell, Indo-Pacific coordinator on the Biden administration’s National Security Council, a person close to the Chinese military said.

“The PLA realises the importance of building communication channels with their American counterparts but the political tensions between the two countries have hindered that,” the source said.

“The lack of transparency has also made the PLA doubt whether Washington will adjust its ‘strategic ambiguity’ over the Taiwan issue.”

In a discussion event hosted by The Financial Times , Campbell said there would be “significant downsides” if the US changed its long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether Washington would intervene in the event of an attack on Taiwan.

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