The US will continue to strengthen Taiwan's role as a regional security partner and its defense capacity

The American Institute of Taiwan, which acts as the U.S. Embassy, announced Friday that its priorities are to strengthen Taiwan's role as a “regional security partner” and promote resilience in the global supply chain.

Beijing's attempts to “drown Taiwan's international space, and interfere” in its Government threaten all democracies, said the director of the American Taiwan Institute, Sandra Oudkirk, as reported by the Taiwanese daily 'Taipei Times'.

Oudkirk also highlighted that the US-China relationship faces challenges in areas such as trade and human rights, and the US country is concerned about Beijing's ties with Moscow, especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Thus, he emphasized that in the Indo-Pacific region, China's “aggressive” behavior is especially evident in Taiwan, where Beijing “continues to exert military, diplomatic and economic pressure.”

For Oudkirk, China's “provocative” military activities near Taiwan are “disrupting” stability and peace in the region.

The United States will continue to “support its allies and partners to promote prosperity, security and shared values in the region,” which is at the heart of Biden's foreign policy, Oudkirk stressed.

In this regard, he explained that the United States will continue to help Taiwan improve its defensive capabilities to enhance “Taiwan's role as a regional security partner,” as stability along the Taiwan Strait is key to regional peace and US interests.

The United States is “deeply concerned about the People's Republic of China's ongoing efforts to undermine that stability,” he added.

Oudkirk also reported that the United States will work with Taiwan to strengthen global supply chain resilience through a series of initiatives, as Taiwan is at the center of the semiconductor supply chain, and is a pioneer in 5G technology and artificial intelligence.

Thus, he indicated that Taiwan will play a crucial role in the recovery of supply chains affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the United States will use the Collaborative Technology Trade and Investment Framework to encourage investment in semiconductors, electric vehicles, cybersecurity, renewable energy and energy storage from both sides, explained the director of the American Taiwan Institute.

He also announced that the United States will continue to “support efforts to preserve and expand Taiwan's international space” and will strive to deepen the “economic and people-to-people ties” between the two countries in the fields of high technology and others.

Oudkirk noted that Taiwan was the sixth largest consumer of U.S. agricultural products and the eighth largest U.S. trading partner in goods last year, with per capita trade only behind Canada and Mexico.

(With information from Europa Press)

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