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$60 billion in US aid: no certain path to victory VW pro-union vote 1st step in changing the US South New PLA unit underscores intelligentized warfare shift Chen also said the Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party in Taiwan, is trying to rely on the US and use force to seek independence but such an attempt is doomed to failure.
“By providing military aid to Taiwan, the US is trying to stir up a crisis and confrontation in the Taiwan Strait and related region,” Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times in an interview.“The US will then use the chaos and conflicts it creates to make countries in East Asia and Western Pacific regions lean to its side and form an alliance.”
Li said such a move will lead to division in the Asia Pacific region, undermine the important foundation for the stability of Sino-US relations and seriously damage the existing order and security environment for shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
US commitmentThe Taipei government and local media were cheered by the newly-approved US military aid. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the US Congress for approving it.
Taiwanese Premier Chen Chien-jen said Monday that a peaceful and stable Taiwan Strait is important to peace and prosperity in the world.
He said Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries, including the US and all countries in the free democratic camp, to safeguard peace and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region and make the Taiwan Strait area more stable.
The approval of the military aid for Taiwan reaffirmed Washington's“rock-solid” commitment to helping the island defend itself, especially when this year marks the 45th anniversary of the passage of the US-Taiwan Relations Act, said Anny Hsiao, executive director of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), a Washington-based organization of Taiwanese Americans.
She said the US should give up its“strategic ambiguity” on the China-Taiwan matter and adopt“strategic clarity.”
For several decades, Washington has remained ambiguous about whether it will provide military support to Taiwan if the island is attacked by mainland China. Last year, Biden said on several occasions that the US will support Taiwan if a war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait.
'Salami tactics'
Xie Feng, Chinese Ambassador to the US, delivered a speech on April 20 at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024.
He warned the US of the consequences of interfering with China's internal affairs and damaging China's interests on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet) and the South China Sea.
”Applying salami tactics and crossing red lines on issues bearing on others' core interests is just like racing cars on a cliff's edge, where a crash is almost inevitable,” he said.
“The Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive issue in China-US relations. The so-called 'Taiwan independence' is a dead end, and the one-China principle is a red line not to be crossed,” he said.
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He added that it's natural for the US and China to have differences but it's also important for both sides to properly manage their differences and respect each other's core interests and major concerns.
Meanwhile, US State Secretary Antony Blinken is set to visit Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, invited by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
A senior US State Department official told the media that Blinken during his China trip will convey Washington's deep concerns” over China's aid for Russia's defense industrial base.
It is expected that Blinken's topics to be discussed with his Chinese counterparts will be Taiwan issues, Chinese industrial overcapacity and the Middle East conflicts.
Read: Blinken to China to fuss about support for Russia
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