US cabinet member Alex Azar meets Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen

An American cabinet member meets Taiwan’s leader in the highest level visit since the US switched diplomatic recognition.

US Health Secretary Alex Azar meets Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Monday. Picture: AFP

An American cabinet member met Taiwan’s leader on Monday during the highest level visit from the US since it switched diplomatic recognition from the island to China in 1979. Beijing has condemned the trip.

Health Secretary Alex Azar is in Taipei for a three-day visit to promote shared democratic values and the island’s success in taming the coronavirus.

His trip comes as relations between the US and China are in tumult, with the two sides clashing over a wide range of trade, military and security issues, as well as the pandemic.

China, which insists Taiwan is its territory and vows to one day reclaim it, has described Mr Azar’s visit as a threat to “peace and ­stability”.

On Monday morning, Mr Azar met President Tsai Ing-wen, who advocates the island being recognised as a sovereign nation and is loathed by China’s leaders. “Taiwan’s response to COVID-19 has been among the most successful in the world, and that is a tribute to the open, transparent, democratic nature of Taiwan’s society and culture,” he told Ms Tsai.

Ms Tsai thanked the US for supporting its bid to be part of the World Health Organisation a body Beijing keeps the island frozen out of. “Political considerations should never take precedence over the rights to health,” she said, calling Beijing’s refusal to let Taiwan join “highly regrettable”.

Mr Azar brushed off China’s criticism when he was asked about Beijing’s anger over his visit.

“The message that I bring from the US government is one of reaffirming the deep partnership the US has with Taiwan in terms of security, commerce, healthcare and shared common values of democracy, economic freedom and liberty,” he said before the meeting in Taipei.

Mr Azar has previously been critical of Beijing’s response to the coronavirus, which began in central China, as well as the WHO.

It was a theme he repeated on Monday. “(Taiwan) knew very early on … to not trust some of the assertions coming out of there (Beijing) or validation from the World Health Organisation,” he said.

As well as meeting Ms Tsai, Mr Azar will hold talks with his counterpart, Chen Shih-chung, and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

Taiwan has become a poster child for defeating the coronavirus thanks to a well-honed track and tracing program as well as firm border controls.

Despite its proximity and economic links to China, it has recorded fewer than 500 infections and seven deaths.

In contrast, the US has recorded the most deaths in the world with more than 160,000 fatalities.

Critics have accused US President Donald Trump of ramping up criticism of China as a way to divert from growing public anger over his administration’s coronavirus response, especially as he fights for re-election in November at a time when he is trailing presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden in the polls.

Washington remains the leading arms supplier to Taiwan but has historically been cautious in holding official contacts with it.

With many Western nations — until recently — reluctant to sell big-ticket military items lest they incur Beijing’s wrath, Taiwan developed a vibrant and innovative domestic weapons industry.

Comparatively cheap missiles, including hypersonic variants, have become a priority to make any Chinese invasion very costly.

Douglas Paal, a former head of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy, said the Trump administration was still paying heed to China’s red line — that no US official handling national security visit Taiwan.

The difference this time is the context, with Mr Azar travelling at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have hit a new low.

The last time a US cabinet minister visited Taiwan was 2014, when the then head of the Environmental Protection Agency led a delegation.

Washington has billed Mr Azar’s visit as the highest level trip made by a senior administration official since the diplomatic switch.

AFP