U.S. Indo-Pacific Policy Coordinator Kurt Campbell said Tuesday (May 4) that the situation in Taiwan is a cause for concern, adding that the United States will work with Japan to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
Campbell told a discussion sponsored by the Financial Times that China has increased its provocations in the Taiwan Strait and that the United States must make clear in public statements that it is concerned about the issue and is prepared to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, according to the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK).
U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued a joint statement after their summit last month, in which they mentioned Taiwan and stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Campbell said the U.S.-Japanese statement’s reference to Taiwan was significant and was meant to send a very clear message to Taiwan and Beijing about their determination to strengthen deterrence and their desire to ensure that Taiwan can live in peace, the report said.
Campbell, who served as assistant secretary of state for Asia-Pacific affairs in the Obama administration, was selected by then-president-elect Joe Biden in January to serve as the National Security Council’s coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs. the NHK report added that Campbell said he believed the U.S. would work with Japan to take appropriate measures.
China’s recent pressure on Taiwan and frequent activities around Taiwan, in addition to the constant dispatch of military aircraft to disturb Taiwan, China also conducted military exercises in the waters near Taiwan, these actions have intensified fears of a possible Communist invasion of Taiwan.
Admiral Philip Davidson, the current U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, testified before Congress in March that the Chinese Communist Party could attack Taiwan by force within the next six years.
According to Reuters, Campbell said that any conflict between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party over Taiwan is unlikely to be confined to a small geographic area.
“I think it would expand rapidly and would fundamentally destroy the global economy in a way that I don’t think anyone could have predicted,” he said.
Campbell also said at the seminar that he believes both the United States and the Chinese Communist Party understand that maintaining some level of status quo on Taiwan is in the best interests of both countries.
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