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Mike Pompeo, a former US secretary of state, said on Tuesday in Taiwan that the time of “blind engagement” with China is coming to an end and that Beijing’s rising assertiveness has pulled like-minded nations closer together.
Pompeo, one of US president Donald Trump’s most bellicose China advisers, is the most current in a recent wave of Western politicians to visit Taiwan, frequently infuriating Beijing.
Prior to a significant conference of Chinese Communist Party officials next month, where President Xi Jinping is anticipated to win a historic third term, Pompeo’s visit is taking place.
Speaking at a business conference in Kaohsiung, Pompeo characterised Xi’s ten years in office as a turning point in relations with Washington and Beijing, as well as with many of China’s neighbours.
“This region has altered as a result of China’s aggressive diplomatic, military, and economic behaviour. Additionally, it strengthened the bonds between individuals who favour peace and business “he stated.
The old paradigm of blind engagement must stop, he continued, thanking nations like Japan and Australia for increasing their defence spending. “If we want a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century, the century that Xi Jinping dreams of, then we must end the old paradigm of blind engagement.”
Under Trump, official connections between Washington and Taiwan increased, particularly when relations with Beijing deteriorated at the end of his four-year presidency.
That later, more hawkish phase included Pompeo as a main architect.
Regarding whether it would use force to stop a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Washington has long maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity.”
With numerous interviews stating that the US would support Taiwan in the case of an attack, President Joe Biden has started to take a less equivocal stance.
Biden’s “muddled and unclear utterances,” in the words of Pompeo, were criticised. Since leaving office, Pompeo has pushed for diplomatic recognition of Taiwan as a “already independent” country.
“The ambiguity that had previously constituted American policy has now grown much greater over America’s genuine commitment to Taiwan. This really worries me “Tuesday, he remarked.
