A top Pentagon official will visit Taiwan in coming days, according to reports, as attempts between the US and China to repair relations continue to backslide after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon in its airspace.
Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, is expected to visit Taiwan in coming days, according to the Financial Times, after he leaves Mongolia where he is meeting its military.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the report of Chase’s trip, but stressed that the US “support for Taiwan and military relations with Taiwan is in response to the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China.”
Chase would be the most high-profile US visitor since the then House speaker Nancy Pelosi travelled to Taiwan in August, setting off an angry response from Beijing.
Taiwan’s defence minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, said he was uncertain on the report of the visit and couldn’t comment until he had been formally notified. But he said that anyone friendly to Taiwan who could give “favourable advice” on defence operations was welcome.
“If any team that is friendly to us want to visit, they will let us know. Suggestions that are beneficial to Taiwan’s defence operations are very good, and they are all good opportunities. Details are not confirmed yet, I will not explain more. For some matters, if I am not sure about who my subject is, and I am uncertain about it, I won’t make an explanation before I am officially notified.”
China claims Taiwan as a province – a stance that Taiwan’s government and people resoundingly reject. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has pledged to annex Taiwan, by force if necessary, for what he terms “reunification”. Visits by US officials to Taiwan frequently draw condemnation from China, which strongly objects to any foreign actions which signal support for Taiwan. After Pelosi visited, China’s military staged days of live fire military drills around Taiwan’s main island.
Republican members of the US Congress’ foreign affairs and armed services committees have urged the Biden administration to increase its financial commitment to Taiwan, and proposed military aid packages providing grants instead of or on top of loans to fund weapons purchases.
“We must be willing to accept the tension that comes with supporting Taiwan amidst China’s threats and aggression, and we must match words with actions,” a letter signed by members including the Senate Foreign Relations Committee head Jim Risch, according to Defense News.
The US, while not having formally committed to defending Taiwan if that should eventuate, is bound by legislation to provide the island’s government with the means to defend itself. This has seen billions of dollars in weapons sales over recent years, something which has also angered Beijing. This week it sanctioned two major US weapons companies – Lockheed Martin and a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies – over their sales to Taiwan. The two firms were placed on an “unreliable entities” list, and ordered to pay fines twice the value of their Taiwan sales contracts. The list prohibits the countries from engaging in imports, exports, or new investments in China.
The US and China had been making apparent efforts to repair the bilateral relationship, but progress collapsed after the sudden appearance of what the US government says was a Chinese spy balloon in US airspace. In response secretary of state Antony Blinken cancelled a planned trip to Beijing. The balloon was shot down earlier this month. The incident prompted allied countries, including Japan, to reassess past sightings and the UK to review security policies.
China rejects the spying accusations and has accused the US of overreaction, and of spying on China.
Taiwan’s military said on Thursday night it had found the remains of a probable crashed weather balloon, likely from China, on a remote island in the Matsu archipelago, just off the coast of China.
The defence ministry said troops stationed on Dongyin island saw an unknown object falling from the sky, then found the remnants of a balloon on a shooting range.
The sphere is about one metre in diameter with an instrument box marked with simplified Chinese characters - which are used in China but not Taiwan - and the wording “Taiyuan Radio No. 1 Factory Co., Ltd.” and “meteorological instrument”, the military said.
The defence ministry earlier this week said Chinese balloons were frequently spotted near Taiwan but they were all meteorological, not military. Taiwan has frequently complained of Chinese harassment of its outer islands, including the use of civilian drones last year, at least one of which was shot down.
Dongyin sits at the top of the Taiwan Strait on an important passage for any southbound Chinese forces from the eastern province of Zhejiang if they attack Taiwan, and the island is well defended.
Defence minister Chiu said on Friday authorities were investigating the origins and purpose of the balloon found on Dongyin, but hosed down suggestions that it would be considered a “strike” from China similar to last year’s drone.
Additional reporting by Chi Hui Lin, Xiaoqian Zhu, and agencies
