Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said that as president, Xi Jinping believes that Taiwan issues and increased pressure on Taiwan are extremely important to China’s prestige and stability in the long run, and that the U.S. has made clear to China the U.S. position against unilateral changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and that the U.S. has confirmed this position to Taiwan and U.S. allies, including Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who recently visited Washington for a summit with President Biden.
Sullivan (Jake Sullivan) spoke at the Aspen Institute on Friday (April 30) on a review of the Biden administration’s policies during its first 100 days in office, responding to a question from moderator Gerald Seib, executive editor of the Wall Street Journal in Washington, about what the U.S. position is on Taiwan.
Sullivan said the Biden administration’s position on Taiwan is very clear and has been made clear to Beijing that the United States will continue to abide by the one-China policy and fully implement the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances, which have been a bipartisan consensus on U.S.-China relations for decades.
“We oppose unilateral changes to the status quo. We want to see stability in the Taiwan Strait and there can be no unilateral moves to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. We’ve communicated that position to China, we’ve done confirmation with Taiwan, we’ve done confirmation with our partners, including when Prime Minister Kan came to Washington for a summit with the president. That’s the next approach that we will continue to take on the Taiwan issue, to be robust, clear and firm in expressing our view that there should be no unilateral moves to change the status quo,” Sullivan said.
As to why China is now so aggressive toward Taiwan and how the United States should react without causing provocation, Sullivan said, “I can’t give you an authoritative explanation of what is driving the PLA or Xi Jinping to make the decision to invade Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. We can only say in general terms that as Chinese president, Xi Jinping has made the Taiwan issue and the need to increase pressure on Taiwan a key feature of their foreign policy. I think he feels it’s extremely important for China’s prestige and stability in the long run.”
As for the need for the United States to take specific actions to assist Taiwan in defending itself against China’s aggressive actions, Sullivan said he believes the United States must continue to comply with its obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide assistance in Taiwan’s defense so that Taiwan can have the means and ability to defend itself, but he believes other countries in the Indo-Pacific region should also express concern about stability in the Taiwan Strait.
“I think we also have to elevate our concerns with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region so that not only the United States, but other countries are speaking out about the need for stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Sullivan argued that the U.S. should deepen the relationship between the people of the U.S. and Taiwan including the economy, education and other ways the two democracies can work together. He said Taiwan’s excellent response to the new crown epidemic deserves to be studied and consulted on this topic, and there is much to learn from Taiwan’s approach to the challenges posed by disinformation and social media, and that Taiwan is a thriving democracy and the U.S. should stand up for Taiwan in many different areas, “not to escalate or change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, but in doing what two democratic peers do, and that is work together to solve major problems.”
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