United States cancels military talks with Taiwanese representative - FT
The United States has canceled a meeting between Pentagon representative Elbridge Colby and Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Ku.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Financial Times.
Sources familiar with the matter told the publication that the US canceled the meeting at the last minute, telling Taiwan that the timing was unfortunate due to their strikes on Iran.
At the same time, several sources said there were other reasons. "Some US officials are concerned that allowing the Taiwanese defense minister to visit will undermine US-China trade negotiations and hurt Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping," the publication writes.
The US and Taiwan are discussing new dates for the meeting. But sources familiar with the matter say the US wants a lower-level meeting, raising concerns that Trump wants to avoid antagonizing China. One US official said it was not yet clear at what level the talks would take place.
The cancellation came after a phone call between Trump and Xi, which led to speculation that the US president may have bowed to pressure from China.
"Allowing Kuo to visit would mean a willingness to ignore pressure from China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan. According to unwritten rules, the US does not allow Taiwan's defense minister to visit Washington because the countries have not had official relations since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979," the report said.
Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington said its "long-standing policy is not to comment on military visits." The White House declined to comment.
The publication notes that Taipei, responding to pressure from Washington, is trying to increase arms purchases in order to be better able to defend itself against a potential Chinese invasion. Last month, Taiwan began the process of applying for US approval to purchase $20 billion worth of American ammunition and weapons, according to three people familiar with the situation. Taipei plans to begin these purchases next year. But that timeline could be disrupted by Washington's efforts to avoid disrupting trade negotiations or high-level meetings with China.
