TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s increasing military activity undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, U.S. Senator Ed Markey said during a Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Seventh Annual ChinaPower Conference.
“The world should know that it’s the Chinese government aiming to change the status quo in Taiwan, not the United States government, and not Taiwan,” Markey said.
The senator pointed out that Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “temper tantrum” following his and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visits to Taiwan shows that Xi is trying to unilaterally change the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
Markey urged congress to put Taiwan “in the strongest position possible to defend itself” and prevent China from changing the regional status quo. The U.S. should make its commitment to Taiwan’s self-defense clear to international allies and partners.
It should also signal that it is “doing everything" possible to "avoid conflict over Taiwan,” he said.
The senator said the U.S. should pursue “tangible actions” that would boost people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, in addition to bolstering Taiwan’s defense capabilities. “We have a moral responsibility to stand up to authoritarianism and military aggression,” he added.
Markey said the U.S. has “a moral responsibility” to do all it can to avoid a nuclear conflict, stressing that diplomacy should take precedence for Washington to engage with Beijing. “While we manage areas on which we disagree, we should also look for challenges where we can leverage the power of diplomacy,” he said.
The senator also said he is happy to see President Joe Biden and Xi agreeing to keep the lines of communication open and there are plans for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit China soon.
Markey led a delegation to Taiwan from Aug. 14-15 as part of a trip to the Indo-Pacific region. He met with top Taiwan government officials, including President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). They discussed U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change, and other areas of mutual interest, per an American Institute in Taiwan press release.
Markey is the chair of the East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
