US sending aircraft and warships to Taiwan Strait due to Beijing ‘pressure campaign’, White House says

‘We will ensure that our presence, posture and exercise account for China’s more provocative and destabilising behaviour’, says Indo-Pacific adviser
Kurt Campbell also reveals ‘ambitious road map for trade negotiations’ with Taiwan to be announced within days amid simmering bilateral tensions

Taiwan

Kinling Loin Beijing

Published: 3:40am, 13 Aug 2022

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The US will send aircraft and warships to the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks as Washington anticipates Beijing’s “intensified pressure campaign” against the self-ruled island to unfold over the next few months, a senior White House official said.

Kurt Campbell, President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific coordinator, also revealed on Friday that “an ambitious road map for trade negotiations” with Taiwan would be announced “in the coming days”.

“We will ensure that our presence, posture and exercise account for China’s more provocative and destabilising behaviour towards guiding the situation in the western Pacific towards greater stability,” Campbell said during a briefing with reporters.

“We will continue to take calm and resolute steps to uphold stability in the face of Beijing’s ongoing efforts to undermine it, and to support Taiwan in line with our long-standing policy,” he added.

The actions include “conducting standard air and maritime transit” in the Taiwan Strait over the next few weeks.

Campbell made the remarks as tensions between the US and China simmer at a new high following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week.

Pelosi’s trip sparked Beijing’s ire, setting off a series of live-fire military drills carried out by mainland China’s People’s Liberation Army around the self-ruled island.

While the PLA announced a “completion of the exercises” on Wednesday, it noted it would “continue to organise regular combat readiness patrols against Taiwan”.

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Despite these developments, Campbell did not rule out the possibility of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden meeting face to face when he was asked to confirm a Wall Street Journal report. The possibility was raised during the leaders’ last phone call on July 28.

After Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Beijing cancelled a series of diplomatic initiatives involving Washington, including military-to-military talks and joint efforts to tackle climate change.

Meanwhile, the White House deployed the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group to remain in the region to “monitor the situation”. The US on Tuesday conducted a joint air force exercise near Okinawa with Japan, which claimed Chinese missiles had fallen into its exclusive economic zone during the live-fire drills.

As for Campbell’s indication of a looming trade announcement, that tracks with a plan Washington launched in June to deepen such ties through the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade.

Kurt Campbell, a former US diplomat, coordinates Indo-Pacific policy for the Biden administration. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

The trade pact could prove especially timely for Taiwan. In the run-up to and following Pelosi’s trip, Beijing announced it was suspending a series of Taiwanese food imports including citrus fruits, biscuits and confectionery.

Mainland officials called the visit by Pelosi, a long-time critic of Beijing, a “serious political provocation”. The US House speaker is second in line to the US presidency.

Beijing also considers Taiwan a renegade province and opposes any official diplomatic exchanges between the island and foreign governments.

In its latest policy paper this week, Beijing said it would use force against Taiwan if it could not take control of the island “by peaceful means”.

Nancy Pelosi says Beijing used trip as pretext for aggressive Taiwan actions

Washington switched its official diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, and, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state.

But Washington opposes any attempt to take the island by force. The Taiwan Relations Act authorises the US to provide Taipei with arms used in a “defensive character”.

Washington has remained intentionally ambiguous about the degree of support the US government is obliged to provide.

A bill now moving through the US Congress designating Taiwan as a “major non-Nato ally” threatens to strain the US-China relationship further.

The Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 would bolster Taiwan’s defence capabilities with US$4.5 billion in security aid. The legislation would also commit Washington to push for Taipei’s participation in international organisations.

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