Secretary gave the statement to Southeast Asian officials; said that stability in the region is of interest to the US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday (4.Aug.2022) that the United States opposes any effort to change Taiwan’s status. According to Reutersthe secretary gave the information to authorities in Southeast Asia.
Blinken said stability in the region is in the US interest. In addition, he said he plans to hear ideas from Asean (Associations of Southeast Asia) on the country’s collaboration with Quad, an informal group to address Indo-Pacific issues.
China-US relations were strained after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. On Tuesday (2.Aug), the congresswoman went to the Taiwan Legislature and met with the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen.
Pelosi told Tsai that the trip was made “to make it unequivocally clear” that the US will not abandon Taiwan. And he added: “Now more than ever, US solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that is the message we are bringing here today.”.
President Xi Jinping’s government responded to the visit with military activities in the region’s surrounding waters.
TAIWAN
Despite being independently governed since 1949, after a civil war, the island of Taiwan is considered by the Republic of China as its territory.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday (2.Aug) that Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has heightened tensions in the region and will have “severe impacts”.
In a new statement on Wednesday morning (Aug 3), Wang said it was a “open political provocation, which jeopardizes the sovereignty of the Asian country”.
“This proves again that some US politicians have become the ‘troublemakers’ of China-US relations and the US has become the #1 ‘saboteur’ of Taiwan Strait peace and stability.”, he added.
For China’s ambassador to the US, Qin Gang, Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan represents “a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the 3 Sino-American joint communiqués”.
“It is a severe blow to the political basis of China-US relations and seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”said Qin to CNN North-American.
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