AMBASSADOR Daniel J. Kritenbrink is United States Deputy Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He speaks about China, Taiwan and related issues. Excerpts:
President Tsai Ing-wen
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is transiting through New York en route to Central America. Taiwan has also confirmed that President Tsai will again transit through the United States on her return to Taiwan next week, this time via Los Angeles. The facts regarding this transit are clear. It is consistent with longstanding U.S. practice. It is consistent with our unofficial relations with Taiwan. And moreover, it is consistent with the U.S. “one China” policy which remains unchanged. Transits by high-level Taiwan authorities are not visits. They are private and unofficial, and they are not new. It is Taiwan’s decision to make these transits based on their own travel schedules. Such transits are undertaken out of consideration for the safety, comfort, convenience, and dignity of the traveler.
Every Taiwan president has transited the United States. President Tsai herself has transited the United States six times since taking office in 2016, each time without incident. President Tsai transited the U.S. once in 2016, twice in 2017, once in 2018, and twice in 2019. Moreover, President Tsai has also transited through both New York and Los Angeles before. And again, all of those transits occurred without incident. Like many partners, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic limited President Tsai’s ability to travel from 2020 until now.
In previous transit, President Tsai met with members of Congress as well as with state and local officials. She had public appearances, and she attended engagements with the Taiwanese diaspora. President Tsai has also frequently transited both on the outbound and return legs of her travels. As in past years, President Tsai was welcomed to the United States by the chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute in Taiwan, Laura Rosenberger, during this transit. Of course, as I’m sure everyone knows, AIP is the organization that carries out our unofficial relations with Taiwan. This is fully consistent with past practice.
Again, this transit is routine. We see no reason for Beijing to turn this transit into something that it is not, or to use it to overreact. For those of you who cover this closely, we have already seen the PRC’s critical language regarding this transit despite the fact that it is consistent with longstanding practice for Taiwan presidents to do so.
I’ll just reiterate yet again that our approach to Taiwan has remained consistent across decades and administrations. We have a longstanding “one China” policy which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances. We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side. We do not support Taiwan independence, and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.
Preserving peace in Taiwan Strait
From the point of view of both deterrence and diplomacy, we are working to preserve peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which is critical to regional and global security and prosperity. This will require acting now to bolster Taiwan’s resilience against PRC pressure. We have a proven track record of doing just that, from launching an ambitious new trade initiative to announcing around $5 billion in arms sales so far under this administration, including the largest number of arms sales in 20 years, and setting up efforts to accelerate delivery of arms to Taiwan.
We’ve included Taiwan in the first and now second Summit for Democracy, which is taking place this week, and we have increased international awareness of the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
However, maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait will also require direct and ongoing diplomacy with the PRC. The United States and the PRC of course have differences when it comes to Taiwan, which we have successfully navigated for over 40 years. President Biden and his administration have been keeping an open line of communication on this issue, and other shared issues of concern in the U.S.-China relationship, and we will continue to do so.
As the President himself has said, he expects to talk to President Xi soon. We have discussed with the PRC the postponed visit by Secretary Blinken, and we urge the PRC to keep open channels of communication.
In recent years, we have all seen an increase in the PRC’s provocative activity in the Taiwan Strait, including increased incursions into Taiwan’s self-declared ADIZ and crossings of the median line. Beijing has stepped up its pressure campaign against Taiwan in the military, economic, diplomatic, and informational spaces. Unilateral attempts to change the status quo will not pressure the United States Government to alter our longstanding practice to facilitate transits through the United States.
One China
So again, let me reiterate: This transit is routine. It is consistent with longstanding U.S. practice. It is consistent with our unofficial relationship with Taiwan. And it is consistent with the U.S. “one China” policy, which remains unchanged.
U.S.-China relationship
The transit that President Tsai is currently undertaking is routine, reflects longstanding practice on the part of the United States. There is absolutely no reason for China to overreact to, again, this longstanding routine practice.
I think it’s safe to say, as you know, that our policy and our approach to the PRC is crystal clear. As Secretary Blinken laid out in his speech last year, we have an approach and a strategy which we refer to as invest, align, and compete. We do see our relationship with the PRC as one being defined primarily by competition, but we are also open to exploring cooperation in those areas where our interests intersect. And as you noted, perhaps most importantly, we’re committed to maintaining open channels of communication so as to prevent the risk of miscalculation.
I think what I would say explicitly in response to your question is we have many channels of communication open to PRC counterparts. I myself have spoken with PRC counterparts frequently on this and a whole range of other issues. I think both sides understand one another’s position well. I’ll refer you to Beijing authorities if you want to hear their position. But again, I’m here today to lay out very clearly that this transit is routine, reflects our longstanding approach, and there is no reason for China to overreact.
Communication between State Department and Chinese counterparts
I think there are frequent communications taking place between the United States and the PRC on this and a range of other issues. Again, I’ll refer you to Beijing if you want to hear their view. I want to again be crystal clear – the transit that President Tsai is currently undertaking reflects our longstanding approach. It is a routine, private, and unofficial transit, and there is no reason for the PRC or anyone else to overreact to it. Thank you very much.
Taiwan’s President Tsai transit visit to the U.S. this time
It reflects our longstanding practice of facilitating the transit by senior Taiwan authorities of the United States for the convenience, the safety, and dignity of the traveler – could I ask whoever is unmuted if you could mute, please? There’s a lot of background noise. Thank you very much – again, this is a routine transit and reflects our longstanding practice. We conduct such transits for the convenience, safety, and dignity of the traveler, in this case President Tsai. And again, this is President Tsai’s seventh transit of the United States; all six previous transits occurred without incident.
And therefore, we believe that there is no reason for China or anyone else to overreact. I am confident that President Tsai is going to have a smooth and successful transit of the United States, and as she does, I would anticipate that President Tsai will participate in a number of activities, similar to what she has done on her previous transits. And just as her predecessors have done on their transits, we anticipate that President Tsai will have an opportunity to meet with members of the Taiwan diaspora. We expect that she’ll have an occasion to exchange views and deliver remarks with various groups. And we also anticipate, as has always been the case, that President Tsai will have an opportunity to engage with various members of Congress.
You asked – you noted that this is the first time for such a briefing like this to the Foreign Press Center on a transit. I don’t actually know whether that is true or not, but if it is, I’m delighted to be here before you today. I’ll simply say that, as is always the case, we absolutely believe in freedom of the press, and we also believe in making sure that we provide accurate, factual information to our friends, especially through the Foreign Press Center, for our friends in the global media. And we thought this was a good opportunity to do that.
You asked me a question about Speaker McCarthy, and I think what I would say to that is I’d refer you to our friends in the Taiwan authorities and also to the Speaker’s office for any question regarding the Speaker. I’ll simply remind you that Congress is an independent co-equal branch of government, and again, I’ll refer you to them for any comment.
And again, I’ll also underscore that we will conduct this transit as we always have. There’s great precedent for conducting these transits, and as I noted at the top, my friend and colleague in the new chair of the American Institute in Taiwan, Laura Rosenberger, is in New York, where she greeted President Tsai and is accompanying her throughout her transit of the United States. Thank you very much.
Taiwan Relations Act, Six Assurances, and Taiwan president transiting through a city in the United States
Not only am I not aware of anything that would explicitly forbid such transits, I’ll again reiterate what I said at the top, that for decades the United States has facilitated such transits of the United States by senior Taiwanese authorities. We’re delighted to do so for President Tsai now on her seventh transit of the United States, and as always, we’ll do these in straightforward way in accordance with our longstanding practice, and we’ll focus on the safety, comfort, convenience, and dignity of the traveler, in this case President Tsai.
Tsai’s activities
Tsai is doing a few speeches – one I think at the Hudson Institute today in New York and then another at the Reagan Library in Los Angeles, and both of them seem to be closed door, as far as I understand. Has there been any advice that she shouldn’t give public speeches that could be reported on?
We are committed to making sure that President Tsai’s seventh transit of the United States is conducted smoothly and successfully, and we have worked closely with many of our Taiwan friends and counterparts to ensure that that is the case. If you have any questions on the specifics of any event that will take place during President Tsai’s transit, I think I would refer you to the Taiwan authorities and to those associated with the event itself on the U.S. side.
This is the seventh time that President Tsai has transited the United States, and we have conducted these types of transits of the United States now for decades. These are routine. These are longstanding. During such transits, it is of course commonplace and standard practice for senior Taiwan authorities to engage in a range of activities, including meetings with members of Congress, and that will certainly be the case this time. And again, there is no reason for China or anyone else to overreact to this routine and longstanding practice.
I would also say that the U.S. approach to the PRC, the U.S. approach to the cross-strait situation, and the U.S. approach to our very important and robust but unofficial partnership with Taiwan – all of those policies remain unchanged. They are longstanding. We intend to be consistent and resolute in pursuing our policies and our interests, and we’ll be clear, as hopefully I have been here today, in articulating what those policies are and what the intention is behind them.
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