US should recognise Taiwan as ‘free and sovereign’ nation, Mike Pompeo says

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo called for Washington to recognise Taiwan as a sovereign nation during a speech in Taipei on Friday that angered Beijing.

“It is my view that the US government should immediately take necessary and long overdue steps to do the right and obvious thing – that is, to offer the Republic of China, Taiwan, America’s diplomatic recognition as a free and sovereign country,” Pompeo said in the speech organised by a Taiwanese government-affiliated think tank.

“This is not about Taiwan’s future independence, it is about recognising an unmistakable, already existent reality. That reality is … there is no need for Taiwan to declare independence because it’s already an independent country,” he said.

“The people and government of the United States should simply recognise this political, diplomatic and sovereignty reality.”

Pompeo is known for his hawkish views on China when he was the top diplomat in the Donald Trump administration, which gave strong support to Taiwan. His four-day visit to the self-ruled island – which Beijing claims as its own territory – follows that of a high-level US delegation of former top military and security officials.

In the speech, Pompeo called on the US to support Taiwan in the way it had defended West Germany during the Cold War. He said if the US did not stand up to Chinese aggression, Beijing might not only want Taiwan but also expand its forces to the South China Sea and elsewhere.

“Losing Taiwan would directly imperil our vital national interest in the United States.”

His visit drew a stern response from Beijing, with foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin saying “the relevant actions from Pompeo are despicable and inevitably a futile effort”.

Zhu Fenglian, from the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office, called Pompeo’s remarks “totally absurd”.

Beijing has threatened to invade Taiwan if it declares formal independence.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry thanked Pompeo for his friendship and efforts to deepen US relations with the island, but stressed that he was expressing his “personal view”.

Washington does not have formal ties with Taipei – it switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979 – and Pompeo’s comments go against the official US policy, crossing a sensitive red line for the Chinese government.

But in making the remarks as a private citizen, Pompeo “doesn’t need to care” about the official US line, according to Li Da-jung, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taipei.

“That explains why he would say something like this, to please the public here.”

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There has been speculation that Pompeo is considering a 2024 presidential run, and that could also be a factor, said Lu Yeh-chung, a professor with the department of diplomacy at National Chengchi Unversity in Taipei.

Pompeo touted the Trump administration’s tough anti-China policy during the speech.

“[He] might have some electoral aspirations,” Lu said. “These comments might serve to raise his hawkish profile and help the Republicans in the midterm elections.”

Li from Tamkang University said Washington “has no plan to change its one-China policy and made that clear via the high-level delegation that visited Taiwan ahead of Pompeo”.

The group told Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday that the US continued to oppose unilateral changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.