Following the passage of two US military vessels through the Taiwan Strait, the US Department of State updated its fact sheet on US-Taiwan relations on February 13 local time, dropping the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence." Meanwhile, Donald Trump is pushing to fast-track the delivery of US weapons and military equipment to Taiwan.
In this regard, Bao Chengke, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of East Asian Studies, said that the Trump administration's swift move to drop the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" underscores Washington's lack of sincerity on the one-China principle and threatens to undermine stability in China-US relations. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. By dropping the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" on its website, the US Department of State undoubtedly sends the wrong message to separatist forces on the island, which is utterly wrong.
Recently, the Trump administration has been making constant moves on Taiwan-related issues. Last week, the US guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the naval survey ship USS Bowditch passed the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command monitored the vessels throughout the transit. This month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his visit to Guatemala, asserted full US support for Guatemala in expanding relations with Taiwan. At the recent Munich Security Conference, the foreign ministers of the US, Japan, and the ROK held a trilateral meeting and issued a joint statement expressing their support for "Taiwan's meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations." Meanwhile, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, appointed by Donald Trump, declared that the President plans to expedite the delivery of US weapons and military equipment to Taiwan. According to statistics from media outlets on Taiwan Island, during his first term, Donald Trump approved 11 arms sales to Taiwan, with a total value of $18.3 billion, more than twice the amount during Joe Biden's term.
According to Bao Chengke, the Chinese government has the capability to effectively and legally manage the areas surrounding Taiwan island. If the US government insists on provoking China's core interests with the Taiwan question, it will only escalate instability in the region and ultimately hurt its own interests.
While stirring up tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the Trump administration has been coveting TSMC. Previously, Donald Trump repeatedly accused Taiwan of "stealing" US chip business and openly demanded protection fees from the DPP authority. Informed sources have revealed that US officials proposed to TSMC that it engages in a deal with Intel and TSMC agreed to the proposal, which is essentially to help Intel out of its predicament by sacrificing TSMC.
Bao Chengke pointed out that Donald Trump repeatedly accused Taiwan's companies of "stealing" US technologies and using them to manufacture products that were then sold back to the US to profit from American consumers. The US does not want Taiwan's companies to produce high-tech products that give them an advantage over US capabilities. As a result, the Trump administration is adjusting its policies to target any companies it perceives as damaging US interests. However, the DPP should recognize that, in the end, it is the people of Taiwan who will bear the losses, losing the momentum for the development of Taiwan, while the beneficiaries will only be the US.
Editor's Note: Originally published on weixin.qq.com, 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.
