United States (US) Minister of Foreign Affairs Antony Blinken, Friday (12/1), asked Beijing to maintain cross-strait stability. This was revealed by Blinken in a meeting with senior Chinese officials, several hours before the Taiwan Presidential Election (Pilpres) was held.
Blinken, who returned to Washington between a trip to the Middle East crisis and a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, met with the Head of the International Division of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, Liu Jianchao.
“The two sides had constructive discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including areas of potential cooperation and differences of opinion,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“Secretary (Blinken) reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea.”
Taiwan, a self-governing democratic country that is claimed to be Chinese territory, held a vote on Saturday (13/1). Beijing has described front-runner Lai Ching-te as a “grave danger” because of past comments supporting independence.
But Lai has been cautious in his campaign and US officials have said privately that they do not see China’s statements and actions as anything out of the ordinary in Taiwan’s elections.
The US, even though it only recognizes Beijing, provides arms assistance to Taiwan for its defense, because China does not rule out using force to “reunify.”
The US “has great confidence in Taiwan’s democratic process and believes that Taiwanese voters have the right to determine its next leader without outside interference,” said State Department spokesman Vedant Patel on Thursday (11/1). (Ah)