By Hua Zhang
The US State Department recently revised the "US Relations With Taiwan" page on its website, according to a Reuters report on February 16. However, just on January 24, the newly appointed US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said during a call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the US "does not support Taiwan's independence." In less than a month, the new US administration's Taiwan policy has undergone subtle changes.
The Taiwan question is at the very core of China's core interests. The US's inconsistency only proves that its commitments to China are unreliable.
By dropping the wording "does not support Taiwan's independence," the US is sending the wrong signal to "Taiwan independence forces", encouraging them to move further down the path of secession, thereby disrupting China's development. If China responds strongly, the US could rally allies such as Europe, Japan, and Australia to express "concern" over the Taiwan Strait situation. Meanwhile, it could also instigate countries like the Philippines and Japan to create tensions in the South China Sea and East China Sea, thereby generating diplomatic and military pressure on China from multiple directions. Not long ago, during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, they emphasized the "the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" and expressed support for "Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations." They also falsely accused China of taking "provocative activities" in the South China Sea.
Although the US support for Taiwan mostly remains at the level of lip service, it consistently reaps financial benefits. Before and after the recent US presidential election, Trump repeatedly pressured Taiwan to increase its defense budget from the current 2.5 percent of GDP to at least 5 percent, or even up to 10 percent. He claimed that Taiwan must pay a high "protection fee" for its security.
In recent years, US media and think tanks have repeatedly pushed the idea that if the Taiwan Strait situation becomes "irreversible," the US should destroy Taiwan's infrastructure and semiconductor factories to prevent them from falling into the Chinese mainland's hands. Trump has also repeatedly claimed that Taiwan "stole America's chip business" and has threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on Taiwan-made chips. Whether it is bombing factories or imposing tariffs, the US has repeatedly intimidated Taiwan's chip companies in an effort to achieve the "unfinished goal" of transferring the chip production capacity to the US.
Whether it is asking for new arms deals or seizing the production lines of Taiwan's companies, the ultimate victims are the people of Taiwan. Taiwan will lose its momentum for development, while the only beneficiary is the US. For its own selfish interests, the US is once again dangerously testing China's red line. China is fully prepared and will resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. It will deliver a firm response to any provocative actions by the US.
Editor's Note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
