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US President Joe Biden has issued a special order seen as sending a personal signal to Taiwan, amid escalating tensions with China.
Former Senator Chris Dodd (left) and US President Joe Biden
Reuters reported that former Senator Chris Dodd, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg traveled to Taiwan on April 13 at President Biden’s direction. A White House official called it a “personal signal” of Biden’s commitment to relations with Taiwan.
A source told Reuters that Mr. Biden's sending of an "unofficial" US delegation to Taiwan came on the 42nd anniversary of the US passing the Taiwan Relations Act, which Mr. Biden voted for as a senator.
The official said the delegation would meet with senior Taiwanese officials and continue "a longstanding bipartisan tradition in the US government of sending unofficial high-level delegations to Taiwan."
“The choice of these three figures – senior politicians with good relations with Taiwan and close to Mr. Biden – sends an important signal about the US commitment to the island,” the source said.
Over the weekend, the US State Department announced new guidelines aimed at strengthening relations with Taiwan amid China's stepped-up military activities around the island.
China considers Taiwan its inalienable territory and has vowed to unify the island at all costs, including by force. The United States, although it has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, views the island as an important economic and military partner.
Taiwan is also considered one of the top "thorny" issues in the context of US-China tensions escalating due to conflicts in a series of areas in recent times.
According to Dan Tri
