(Shanghai = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cha Byeong-seop = Regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping's demand to 'oppose Taiwan's independence' expressed to the United States at the US-China summit on the 24th (local time), Taiwanese authorities are closely watching the situation, but appear to be assessing that the meeting's impact on US Taiwan policy will be limited.
According to Chinese media outlet Yonhap News Agency on the 27th (local time), Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Ming-chi met with reporters and assessed that US President Donald Trump was maintaining 'strategic ambiguity' regarding this meeting.
He went on to say that although President Trump did not clearly mention it, considering the interview with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue and recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, it can be understood that U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged.
At the same time, he emphasized that the United States strictly evaluates all arms sales to each country, and that the United States already understands the situation facing Taiwan and its determination to invest in defense.
He also said that China's continued investment in military despite the economic slowdown shows that it has not given up on unifying Taiwan by force, and that Taiwan should remain alert and continue to invest in defense reform even after the US-China summit.
Wu Zhi-chung, another deputy director of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a roundtable discussion the day before, "There is no 'independence' issue in Taiwan. We are a sovereign and independent country. Taiwan already has the elements of a sovereign country. Why are we declaring independence?"
In addition, although China continues to pressure the United States over the Taiwan issue, from the United States' perspective, maintaining Taiwan's defense capabilities, peace in the Taiwan Strait, and stability of the semiconductor supply chain is also related to its own interests.
He said that at this stage, the interests of the United States and Taiwan are relatively aligned and that the two sides maintained communication during the U.S.-China summit, adding, "I am not worried (at this time)."
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to President Xi's remarks on its website on the 25th, calling it a "distortion of the facts" and saying, "(China and Taiwan) are not subordinate to each other, and Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to all Taiwanese people."
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Jia-rung also announced that he would lead a corporate delegation to Belize and Guatemala, countries with diplomatic ties in Central and South America, and meet government officials from each country during the trip.
Taiwan had developed a confrontational stance with China by emphasizing democratic solidarity during the former U.S. administration of Joe Biden, but since the inauguration of the Trump administration, concerns have continued that the U.S. is trying to approach the Taiwan issue from the perspective of negotiations between the U.S. and China.
China has been pressuring the United States to go further from its position of 'not supporting' Taiwanese independence to stating that it is 'opposed', and President Xi has publicly expressed this position at this summit.
At the U.S.-China summit on the 24th, President Xi said, "I hope that the U.S. will maintain the correct stance against 'Taiwan independence' and handle the Taiwan issue carefully."
After the meeting, President Trump told reporters that President Xi understood his thoughts on Taiwan very well, but did not explain what position he had expressed to President Xi.
U.S. Ambassador to China Perdue later said in an interview with CNBC on the 25th, "The Trump administration's Taiwan policy has not changed," and told Fox News, "We do not support (Taiwan's) independence, but we clearly do not support threats."
Zhang Wuyue, a senior researcher at the Cross-Strait Center at Taiwan's Danjiang University, said that since there is currently no urgency to resolve the Taiwan issue, "there is absolutely no possibility that the Taiwan issue will become a big deal between the U.S. and China. It will not be easy not only for this meeting but also in the future."
At the same time, in relation to the 'careful handling of the Taiwan issue' requested by President Xi, he said it is necessary to keep an eye on US arms sales, US transit points and formalities during the Taiwanese president's overseas trips, visits to Taiwan by US senior officials, and measures taken by the US legislative and executive departments to strengthen Taiwan relations.
Hu Zhendong, a former official at Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, interpreted that if U.S. arms sales continue to be delayed, China may see this as an effect of putting pressure on the U.S., but on the other hand, if the U.S. begins arms sales soon, this can be understood as no change in U.S. policy.
