White House delegation to visit post-election Taiwan

The move by Washington comes amid rising tensions, with Beijing pledging it will ‘never compromise’ on its vow to one day seize the liberal democracy.

Nancy Pelosi with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in August 2022. Picture: Getty Images

The US plans to send an unofficial delegation to Taiwan after Saturday’s election in the liberal democracy, and warned China against any military provocation.

The move by Washington comes amid rising tensions over the election, with Beijing pledging earlier that it would “never compromise” on its vow to one day seize Taiwan.

“We intend to send an unofficial delegation after the Taiwan election,” a senior Biden administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official suggested it would comprise former US government officials, as with previous such delegations over the past 20 years, but said details were still being confirmed.

“These have been used in the past just to ensure that we are communicating clearly to the president-elect, but also the other candidates as well, about the importance of a strong, unofficial partnership,” the official said.

Such delegations involve “being clear about what US One China policy is and what it is not”, the official said, referring to Washington’s stance that it does not support Taiwanese independence.

“It’s exactly the type of engagement that contributes to peace and stability, in our view.”

Beijing reacted furiously to a visit to Taiwan in 2022 by then US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, severing military communications with Washington. China claims Taiwan – which holds presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday – as part of its territory, and has vowed to seize the island democracy one day.

Washington warned China against stoking tensions over the elections, which are being closely watched as determining the future of Taiwan’s relations with an increasingly assertive Beijing.

“Beijing will be the provocateur should it choose to respond with additional military pressure or coercion,” the US official said

Relations between Beijing and Washington nosedived in recent years but have warmed since a summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November.

The two leaders agreed then to resume stalled military talks and senior Chinese and US officials met at the Pentagon on Monday and Tuesday. But Taiwan remains a thorny issue.

China’s Defence Ministry said its officials had demanded that Washington “stop arming Taiwan, and oppose Taiwan’s ‘independence’ ”, according to a ministry statement.

AFP