Taiwan-U.S. relations remain strong and have not been negatively affected by warming cross-strait ties, according to a letter written by an official from the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs published Nov. 12 in The Wall Street Journal.
“Taiwan and the U.S. enjoy an extremely close relationship that has not wavered in recent years,” said Brian Su, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York press division.
“As the U.S. turns its foreign policy to East Asia, it has become more important than ever for it to maintain close relations with its democratic friends in the region, making Taiwan an important security and strategic country for Washington.”
Su made the remarks in response to a review by Mary Kissel, a WSJ editorial board member, of Edward Luttwak’s book “The Rise of China vs. The Logic of Strategy.”
According to Su, the healthy state of Taiwan-U.S. relations is evidenced by Washington’s sale of US$5.8 billion in weapons to Taipei last year, as well as the country’s recent admission to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.
On cross-strait ties, Su said Taiwan remains focused on improving economic cooperation with mainland China and there have been no political discussions across the strait.
Taiwan’s interactions with mainland China are all carried out according to the principles of no unification, no independence and no use of force in order to ensure there will be no political interference from outside powers, Su said. (JSM)
Write to Rachel Chan at ccchan@mofa.gov.tw