Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3098501/us-representative-joins-taiwanese-leaders-remember-clash
China/ Military

US representative joins Taiwanese leaders to remember clash with mainland Chinese forces

  • De facto ambassador Brent Christensen joins President Tsai Ing-wen to mark 1958 attack on Taiwanese-controlled Quemoy island
  • The island, also known as Kinmen, lies just off the mainland and faced a month-long bombardment that ended in a stalemate
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen lays a wreath while director of the American Institute in Taiwan Brent Christensen (fourth from left) watches on. Photo: AP

Amid rising tensions with Beijing, the de facto US ambassador in Taiwan took part for the first time in commemorations of a key military clash with mainland China.

China has recently stepped up military activity around the democratic island, which it regards as part of its territory, moves denounced by Taiwan’s government as an attempt at intimidation to force them to accept Chinese rule.

On Sunday Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen laid a wreath and bowed her head in respect at a memorial park on Quemoy island, which sits a few kilometres away from the Chinese metropolis of Xiamen, to mark the 62nd anniversary of the start of the second Taiwan Strait crisis.

In August 1958, Chinese forces began more than a month of bombarding Quemoy, along with the Taiwan-controlled Matsu archipelago further up the coast.

Brent Christensen, head of the American Institute in Taiwan and Washington’s de facto representative, offered his respects too, standing behind Tsai, in a symbolic show of US support.

Christensen also laid wreaths at a monument honouring two US military officers who died in a 1954 attack on Quemoy, the institute said.

“Commemorations such as these remind us that today’s US-Taiwan security cooperation builds on a long and proud history that exemplifies the phrase ‘Real Friends, Real Progress’,” it said in a statement.

Taiwan’s presidential office thanked Christensen for taking part on a day it said serves to remind Taiwan’s people of the importance of defending freedom and democracy.

China’s Taiwan affairs office did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment on the commemoration.

Washington has no formal ties with Taipei but is its largest arms supplier. President Donald Trump’s administration has made bolstering relations a priority, to Beijing’s anger.

Like Tsai, Christensen did not comment publicly.

Taiwan fought back during the 1958 clash with support from the United States, which sent military equipment like advanced Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles, giving Taiwan a technological edge. The crisis ended in a stalemate.

Major General Liu Qiang-hua, spokesman for the Quemoy Defence Command, said it was important to remember an event that was crucial to ensuring Taiwan’s security.

“Of course we hope there is no war, but it is dangerous to forget about war. This is the spirit we need to safeguard,” he told Reuters.

Also known as Kinmen, Quemoy today is a popular tourist destination, though remnants of past fighting like underground bunkers are scattered across the island, and Taiwan maintains a significant military presence.