Taipei, May 27: United States national security advisor and Taiwan’s senior national security advisor have met to bolster cooperation, the government said on Monday in Taipei, the first-ever such meeting in four decades, amidst rising tensions between China and the US.
According to Reuters news reports, White House national security advisor John Bolton met with Taiwan’s national security head David Lee earlier this month, Taipan’s foreign affairs ministry, in an official statement, said on Saturday.
The state-run Central News Agency stated the meetings was the first-ever conference since the United States and the island nation ended their formal diplomatic relations in 1979.
n 1949, after losing a civil war to the country’s communists, Chinese Nationalists forces stepped in Taiwan in 1949’s December.
The “1992 consensus” was an agreement reached between Chinese communist officials and then Kuomintang (KMT) government of Taiwan, where both sides of the Taiwan Strait would acknowledge that there is only “one China” with both sides free interpreting what “China” means.
China considers Taiwan as its province, to be claimed by its forces if necessary, and the US-Taiwan meeting was likely to raise tensions and anger Beijing with US-Sino relations already tensed.
The diplomatic frictions rose in the recent weeks amidst trade war, US sanctions and Beijing’s increasing military presence in the disputed South China Sea, where American naval vessels conducted several transits, calling it freedom of navigation patrols.
Taiwan’s brief statement said the meeting has taken place during Lee’s visit to Washington DC from May 13-21.
The statement added, “During the trip, together with the US government officials, Secretary-General Lee met with representatives from our diplomatic allies, reiterating support and commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan and Taipei’s foreign affairs ministry have reportedly declined a request of a comment.
The Pentagon says Washington has sold Taipei more than $15 billion in arms since 2010.