Conflict over Taiwan would be disastrous, de facto US ambassador says
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Director of the American Institute in Taiwan Raymond Greene said there was no topic more timely or important than how to secure peace in the Taiwan Strait.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Any conflict across the Taiwan Strait would impact the global economy more than World War II, said US diplomat Raymond Greene.
- The upcoming US-China summit is a key chance to avoid misunderstandings and maintain strategic stability.
- The US supports Taiwan's defence efforts, with Taiwan planning to exceed NT$1 trillion in defence spending by 2027.
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TAIPEI – Any conflict across the Taiwan Strait would have a bigger impact on the global economy than World War II, and the upcoming US-China summit is an opportunity to avoid miscalculations, the top US diplomat in Taipei said on Sept 9.
While the US, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, it is the democratically governed island’s most important international backer and arms supplier.
Speaking at a defence forum in Taipei, Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, said there was no topic more timely or important than how to secure peace in the Taiwan Strait.
“Beyond the human toll, any conflict across the Taiwan Strait would have a bigger impact on the global economy than the second world war,” he said.
“The United States under the Trump administration has made preserving peace in the Indo-Pacific one of its top priorities,” he added.
That includes “vigorous” diplomacy, especially at the highest levels, he said.
“The upcoming US-China summit is an opportunity to further advance a relationship of strategic stability, on the basis of fairness and reciprocity, that can avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations,” Greene added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to travel to the US later in September for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
Greene said that the US was also reinforcing its presence and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region to maintain a “favourable regional balance of power”.
“Third, and especially relevant to today’s discussion, we are supporting Taiwan’s work to enhance its ability to defend itself.”
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s administration has made stepped-up defence spending and military modernisation priorities, given the threat level from China.
The government, which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has budgeted defence spending for 2027 to exceed NT$1 trillion (S$40.13 billion) for the first time.
Speaking at the same event as Greene, Vice-President Hsiao Bi-khim said Taiwan has a clear responsibility to strengthen its own defences and make its society better prepared to withstand a wide range of security challenges.
“Our purpose, of course, is to preserve peace and the freedom of Taiwan’s people to determine their future. Better preparation gives us a basis for pursuing that purpose with steadiness and strength,” she added.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, though it says it would prefer a peaceful outcome under a “one country, two systems” model of autonomy no major Taiwanese political party supports.
“The reunification of the motherland is an unstoppable historical trend,” Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular news briefing in Beijing on Sept 9. REUTERS