In a speech in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized that the American policy on Taiwan had not changed. He said that instead, it was China that had changed, by ramping up its acts of aggression toward Taiwan. In response, Premier Su Tseng-chang thanked the U.S. for striving to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region. He said that as a large nation, China also had the responsibility to preserve regional stability.

Antony Blinken
US secretary of state
China’s the only country with both the intent to change the international order…

In a speech on China policy, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced China for ramping up aggression toward Taiwan.

Antony Blinken
US secretary of state
…like flying PLA aircraft near Taiwan on an almost daily basis. These words and actions are deeply destabilizing. Maintaining peace and stability across the strait is not just a U.S. interest. It is a matter of international concern, critical to regional and global security and prosperity.

Blinken condemned China for threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and blocking Taiwan from joining international organizations. He said that the U.S.’ “One China” policy had not changed. He said that what had changed was China’s, quote, “growing coercion.”


Antony Blinken
US secretary of state
We’ll continue to expand our cooperation with Taiwan on our many shared interests and values, support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international community, deepen our economic ties, consistent with our “One China” policy.

Su Tseng-chang
Premier
Democratic nations are condemning China’s deployment of military planes surrounding Taiwan, an act that undermines the status quo. Taiwan will certainly defend itself. We also hope that China will fulfill the responsibility it has as a large nation to maintain regional peace.

Taiwan’s premier directed strong words at Beijing. In his policy speech on Thursday, Blinken laid out three strategies for countering China: invest, align, and compete. Speaking on the Taiwan issue, he insisted that the U.S. policy was consistent. Even so, China denounced Washington on Thursday, accusing it of trying to shift the status quo.

Wu Qian
China defense ministry spokesman
The U.S. continuously seeks to hollow out the “One China” principle. It seeks to use salami-slicing tactics, to realize its goal of using Taiwan to contain China. But when the U.S. plays the salami-slicing game on the Taiwan issue, it will inevitably cut its own hand.

Lo Chih-cheng
DPP lawmaker
This rhetoric reflects how China is realizing that Taiwan and the U.S. are getting closer, not only in terms of their substantive interactions but also in the various formal aspects of their relationship.

Legislator Lo Chih-cheng weighed in on Blinken’s China speech. He said it was a move to defuse global doubts, after U.S. President Joe Biden walked back his vow to defend Taiwan militarily.