Taiwan confirmed on Tuesday president Tsai Ing Wen would make sensitive stops in the US during transit on their way to and from Central America.
What happened: Spokesman for the Taiwan Presidential Office Lin Yuchan told the media that Tsai would be passing through New York and Los Angeles as part of a trip to Guatemala and Belize.
Tsai will leave Taipei on March 29 and return on April 7 after visiting diplomatic allies in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Taiwan has not yet commented on this the President’s plan to meet the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, which is likely to further fuel tensions between China and the United States. According to Reuters sources, McCarthy intends to meet the Taiwanese leader during the California leg of her visit.
Because the US, like most countries, does not maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan due to its disputed status, Taiwanese presidents routinely pass through the US and attend high-level meetings rather than formal visits.
Beijing had previously responded to reports of Tsai’s possible visit to the US, saying it was “seriously concerned” and had asked Washington for clarification.
Before Taiwan confirmed Tsai’s plan, a senior US official said their expected transits were standard practice and Beijing should not use them as an excuse aggressive action against the self-governing island. The official added that every Taiwanese president has crossed the US and that Tsai herself has done so six times since taking office in 2016, most recently in 2019.
Last year, as the then Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwanit infuriated China and led to Beijing hosts war games near the straits.
Also read: Xi Jinping government’s plan to play Cupid for singles met with skepticism: ‘Breed like pigs’
[ad_2]
Source story
