As the United States of America and Taiwan take initial steps towards what may be a historic trade deal, China has, on expected lines, shown its reservation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on Monday, told the Congressional Committee that Washington was, “engaged in conversations with Taiwan, or soon will be, on some kind of framework agreement”.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian ‘urged’ Washington to “stop any form of official exchanges with Taiwan, handle the Taiwan issue cautiously, and refrain from sending any wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces.”
In a conversation with Times Now, Executive Director of Global Taiwan Institute, Russell Hsiao, said that while China’s views have ‘some influence’ on Washington, they are secondary to the USA’s own national interests.
He said, “The key determinant for Washington on whether a trade deal with Taiwan could in fact happen is how high a priority it is for the US administration in terms of its national interests, China’s views have some influence but are only secondary.”
The US Secretary of State had also suggested that there could be some transfer of arms to Taiwan as a part of the deal which is still to be negotiated. When asked if this transfer of arms by Washington could raise the tension in the region, Hsiao said that while Beijing would complain whenever Americans sell provide arms to Taiwan, it is these arms sales that provide Taipei with the confidence to engage in negotiations with China and therefore reduce tensions.
Chinese PLA Air Force is known to intrude the Taiwan air space from time to time, and if reports are to be believed, these actions have intensified over the last few years. When we asked Russell Hsiao whether this deal could further increase these intrusions, he said, “The PLA has been increasing the number of exercises well before any indication of a resumption of trade talk and it will likely sustain and possibly increase these exercises whether or not the United States and Taiwan reach a deal.”
Another potential bone of contention between Washington and Taipei could be the issue of the USA re-recognizing Taiwan. On this subject, Hsiao said, “The US position on Taiwan’s legal status has been consistent and clear. The current governments in Washington and Taipei appear to have a good mutual understanding on this issue. There are more pressing issues at hand for the two sides to deal with at this time.”
Finally, Hsiao signed off by saying, “The possible resumption of the US-Taiwan Trade Investment Framework Talks is clearly a step in the right direction. Whether or not it ends in a free trade agreement remains to be seen. At least the two sides will be talking again and can have substantive trade-related discussions on concrete issues that could eventually build into a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement.”
The Biden administration has already made it clear that the US is committed to the proposition that Taiwan must have the means to defend itself. A bipartisan delegation of 3 US senators — Tammy Duckworth, Christopher Coons and Dan Sullivan — while on a visit to Taipei, has confirmed that 750,000 COVID-19 vaccines will be donated by the US to Taiwan.
