Editorial | New US leader must rethink Taiwan policy
- It is still unclear what Joe Biden’s stance is towards the self-ruled island, but surely he must realise that his predecessor’s strategy breaks all the protocols
United States President-elect Joe Biden’s policy towards Taiwan has not been articulated. But even without details, there can be certainty that it will not be as incendiary as the approach of outgoing leader Donald Trump’s administration.
With days remaining in his term, stepped-up efforts are being made to lock in a tough policy towards China, the latest efforts being a phone call between US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, and Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lifted a bar on official contacts with the island.
The moves understandably angered Beijing, but given they were made by people who will soon have relinquished their authority, there is every chance of a return to pragmatic and seasoned statesmanship.
Craft was to have visited Taiwan this week, the first envoy of her standing to do so since relations between Washington and Beijing were established in 1979. But the sudden cancellation by the US State Department of all overseas travel to ensure a smooth transition of power put paid to the trip, which was to have included lunch with Tsai.
Although there was no face-to-face meeting, the phone call was as inflammatory, breaking protocol under which the US had agreed to strictly abide by a one-China principle and refrain from official exchanges with Taiwan. Tsai was told the US “stands with Taiwan and always will”.
