TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US commitment to Taiwan will not change, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a forum on Monday.
Speaking in Taipei, Pompeo said, the US would continue building deterrence to counter China. Taiwanese “have every reason to believe in America’s continued resolve to deliver on this,” he said.
During his time as secretary of state, Pompeo said he worked with President Trump to form a model for deterrence against enemies seeking to undermine the shared values Taiwan and the US cherish.
Pompeo said Taiwan plays a crucial role in building upon this model, along with other regional countries such as Japan, Australia, and the Philippines. “Free nations in the Indo-Pacific must send an unambiguous message to Beijing—that Taiwan is free … and it’s going to stay that way,” he said.
“Xi Jinping (習 平) will not determine the future of Asia or of Taiwan,” he added.
Pompeo expressed optimism about closer Taiwan-US ties, suggesting that one day a sitting US secretary of state will visit Taiwan. The former US official visited Taipei last year also advocating for a stronger US-Indo-Pacific partnership “so that China can’t continue to threaten them.”
Pompeo first served as CIA director under the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018 and later was appointed secretary of state.