Washington’s updated stance on Taiwan angers Chinese officials

China has smashed Washington over a subtle change made this week, with one official describing it as “serious regression”.

The US State Department has quietly removed a key phrase from its website, deleting language that explicitly stated it does not support Taiwan independence.

While Washington’s broader position remains unchanged in opposing unilateral moves from either Taiwan or Beijing, the update has been welcomed in Taipei and has already lit a fire under Chinese officials.

“We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side,” the State Department website update read.

“We expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the (Taiwan) Strait.”

The subtle change was first reported by Taiwan’s official Central News Agency on Sunday, with officials immediately heaping praise on the US.

It also introduces references to Taiwan’s co-operation with the Pentagon on semiconductor and technology development and reiterates US support for Taiwan’s membership in international organisations “where applicable”.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said it demonstrated a “positive stance on US-Taiwan relations.”

But in Beijing, the gesture was seen as a “serious regression” in US-China relations.

“This is yet another example of the United States’ stubborn adherence to the erroneous policy of ‘using Taiwan to suppress China’. We urge the United States side to immediately rectify its mistakes,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday.

“We urge the US to immediately correct its mistakes [and] earnestly adhere to the One China principle.”

The Taiwan Strait remains one of the most tense waterways on the planet. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

This isn’t the first time the wording has been altered. A similar removal of the non-support clause in 2022 was quickly reversed, appearing back on the site just a month later.

Beijing, which views Taiwan as a breakaway province and a “core of core interests,” has repeatedly condemned any international backing for the island. Taiwan, meanwhile, insists it is already a sovereign nation under the Republic of China banner and rejects China’s territorial claims.

Tensions in the region remain high as Taiwan continues to face near-daily incursions by Chinese warplanes and warships.

On Sunday, Taipei’s defence ministry reported detecting 24 Chinese military aircraft conducting “joint combat readiness patrols” alongside naval vessels near the island.

Meanwhile, the US and its allies have been making their own presence known.

Last week, the first US Navy ships crossed the Taiwan Strait since President Donald Trump took office, and over the weekend, Canada’s warship Ottawa followed suit.

While Trump has rattled Taiwan’s leadership with criticism of its dominance in semiconductor manufacturing, his administration has otherwise been firm in its military backing.

The gesture was seen as a “serious regression” in US-China relations.

China says Canadian warship incident ‘undermines peace’

China’s military spoke out against the presence of warship Ottowa in the Taiwan Strait, urging that it “undermines peace” in the sensitive waterway.

The Canadian vessel passed through the strait on Sunday and was the first to do so this year, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said, coming days after two US ships made the passage.

Canada’s actions “deliberately stir up trouble and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”, Li Xi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said in a statement.

The army had dispatched its naval and air forces to monitor and guard the passage of the ship, Li said, adding that the troops will “resolutely counter all threats and provocations”.

The United States and its allies regularly pass through the 180-kilometre strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering China.(Photo by Greg JOHNSON / US NAVY / AFP)

The United States and its allies regularly pass through the 180-kilometre strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering China.

A US destroyer and an ocean survey ship travelled through the strait starting on February 10, drawing criticism from China’s military, which said it sent the “wrong signal and increased security risks”.

Washington’s latest passage through the strait was the first since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

Taiwan’s defence ministry, meanwhile, said it recorded 41 Chinese aircraft and nine warships near the island in the 24 hours to 6am on Monday.

Beijing has never ruled Taiwan, but it claims the democratic island as part of its territory and has threatened to bring it under its control by force.

Originally published as Washington’s updated stance on Taiwan angers Chinese officials