FT: “Managing US-China Trade Talks While Reassuring Taiwan”
Following Taiwan’s Defense Minister Cancelling Washington Visit
Amidst secretive discussions occurring ahead of China’s 80th Victory Day Parade, defense officials from the US and Taiwan held talks in Anchorage, Alaska. According to the Financial Times (FT) report on the 4th (local time), these sessions involved Jed Royal, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs from the US, and Hsu Szu-chien, Deputy Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council (NSC). The specifics of their discussions remain undisclosed.
In June, the US and Taiwan had planned high-level defense talks which were ultimately canceled at the last minute. The original plan involved a meeting in Washington, D.C., between US Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby and Taiwan’s Defense Minister, Ku Li-shiong. It was reported that the US canceled due to ongoing military operations against Iran.
FT suggests that the abrupt cancellation might be linked to then-President Donald Trump’s preparations for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. There were concerns about provoking China if a sitting Taiwanese minister visited Washington.
A source mentioned that selecting Alaska as the meeting place was partially to avoid external attention to the secret meeting.
Amanda Xiao, China Director at the Eurasia Group, told FT: “The Trump administration seems to want to reassure Taiwan while maintaining trade agreements and summit opportunities with China.” She added that a minister-level meeting with Taiwan might have escalated China’s resistance.
Bonnie Glaser, a researcher at the German Marshall Fund think tank, indicated that downgrading the US-Taiwan defense talks suggests President Trump instructed his cabinet to avoid actions that could obstruct dealings with China.