Taiwan welcomes ‘loyal friend’ ex-US defence chief Mark Esper on four-day visit

Name: Taiwan holds missile exercise amid rising tensions with mainland China
Uploaded: 2022-07-18T11:15:12.000Z
Duration: 1 min 38 s
Description: Taiwan holds missile exercise amid rising tensions with mainland China

Trump defence chief Mark Esper’s long-time support for Taiwan has included calling on the US to review its one-China policy

He heads three-member think tank team seeking to learn about security risks to Taiwan and due to meet President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday

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Mark Esper, US secretary of defence from 2019 to 2020, has described Beijing as an “opponent”. Photo: Reuters

Lawrence Chung

Published: 7:15pm, 18 Jul 2022

Former US defence chief Mark Esper is on a four-day trip to Taiwan to learn about the latest security threats and other issues faced by the island, the foreign ministry in Taipei said.

Esper, whom the ministry described as a “loyal friend” of Taiwan, arrived in Taipei on Monday as the leader of a three-member delegation of the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank.

The Trump-era secretary of defence has long been vocal on Taiwan issues, including calling on the US to review its one-China policy. A foreign ministry statement announcing the visit hailed his long-time support for the island.

Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory under its one-China principle. The US’ one-China policy, while recognising Beijing to be the legitimate government of China, only acknowledges but does not endorse its position that Taiwan is a part of China.

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Taiwan holds missile exercise amid rising tensions with mainland China

“The [US] delegation will visit senior government officials and relevant departments, and will have exchanges with think tanks and business leaders here to learn about the latest developments [in Taiwan],” the ministry statement said.