At the request of President Joe Biden, former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and two former Deputy Secretaries of State, Richard Armitage and James Steinberg, traveled to Taiwan on Tuesday (April 13). A senior U.S. administration official said it was a “significant signal” of the U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.
A senior Biden administration official said the “unofficial” delegation came as the United States and Taiwan celebrated the 42nd anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, which Biden voted for as a U.S. senator.
The senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the delegation will meet with Taiwanese officials, following “a longstanding bipartisan tradition of high-level unofficial delegations from the U.S. executive branch to Taiwan.
“The selection of these three individuals — senior state activists who are longtime friends of Taiwan and have close personal ties to President Biden — sends a significant signal about the U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its democracy,” the official said.
Dodd (also known as Dodd), a Democrat, was a longtime senator representing Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Armitage served as permanent deputy secretary of state in the administration of Republican President George W. Bush Jr. Steinberg served in the No. 2 leadership position at the State Department during the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.
The announcement by the White House comes on the heels of the State Department’s announcement last Friday (April 9) of new guidelines for U.S. officials in their dealings with Taiwan. These new guidelines will allow U.S. officials more latitude in meeting with Taiwanese officials.
A senior Biden administration official said, “The United States stands with friends and allies across the Indo-Pacific region to advance our shared prosperity, security and values-and that includes deepening our relationship with Taiwan.”
The official said, “The United States is committed to engaging and deepening our cooperation with Taiwan in the spirit of shared interests and in a manner consistent with the United States’ ‘One China’ policy.”
Reuters reported that the senior U.S. administration official expressed disbelief when asked if the delegation’s visit to Taiwan was timed to coordinate with the visit of U.S. climate envoy and former Secretary of State John Kerry to Shanghai, China, this week. The official said climate talks with China “should not be tied to other areas of this relationship.
“It’s certainly not downplaying any concerns we have about Beijing’s behavior,” the official said. “Our unofficial engagement with Taiwan …… should be independent.”
Asked about future official U.S.-Taiwan contacts following the State Department’s announcement of new guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, the official replied, “We don’t have specific plans at this point regarding specific travel, but …… I certainly anticipate that we will engage and travel in a manner consistent with our ‘One China Policy.'”
The official said Taiwan and maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait will be part of the topic when Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga visits Washington and talks with President Biden later this week.
No response has been seen from Beijing to Biden sending a delegation to Taiwan. China firmly opposes this and urges the U.S. side not to ‘play with fire’ on the Taiwan issue and to handle Taiwan-related issues carefully and appropriately,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Tuesday after the State Department issued new guidelines on interactions with Taiwan officials. “
China has recently increased its military deterrence operations against Taiwan.
Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Mei-Chin Hsiao, said she “welcomes President Biden’s dispatch of a delegation led by former Senator Dodd, a close friend of his in politics for many years, to convey his support for Taiwan’s democracy and commitment to deepening bilateral ties.
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