Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is urging the United States to recognize Taiwan as a “free and sovereign country” amid concerns China could parallel Russia’s moves in Ukraine and launch an invasion.
Pompeo argued Taiwan is already an independent nation and that it was “overdue” for the U.S. to recognize that reality, remarks that were met with a swift rebuke from Chinese officials against the backdrop of renewed consternation about China’s ambitions in Taiwan amid Russia’s assault on Ukraine‘s democracy.
“Its legal democratically elected government can no longer be ignored, avoided, or treated as secondary. It is my view that the United States government should immediately take necessary and long overdue steps to do the right and obvious thing to offer the Republic of China Taiwan America’s recognition as a free and sovereign country,” he said in a speech in Taiwan on Friday. “The brutally successful takeover of Hong Kong last year boosted Xi’s hubris and made him feel more powerful. I am convinced he won’t be satisfied stopping at Hong Kong.”
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The remarks from Pompeo, who arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday for a four-day visit in an unofficial capacity, crossed a very delicate line for China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan as part of its One China policy.
“Mike Pompeo is a former politician with bankrupt credibility. His lunatic remarks will lead nowhere,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. “Such a person’s babbling nonsense will have no success.”
The United States should formally recognise Taiwan as a country, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a speech in Taipei, drawing a stern rebuke from China for his ‘babbling nonsense’ https://t.co/H3Cjo8z1Tt pic.twitter.com/xHc3YcLzoe
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 4, 2022
During his time as secretary of state in the Trump administration, Pompeo maintained the traditional U.S. policy on Taiwan’s legal status but began pushing the envelope toward the end of his tenure. In October 2020, Pompeo reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Taiwan’s security during a visit to Japan. In early January 2021, Pompeo announced plans to send the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to Taiwan but ultimately scrapped those plans, citing complications from the presidential transition. Miffed by those moves, China slapped sanctions on Pompeo on the day of President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
China has increased pressure on Taiwan in recent years, regularly flying warplanes into its air defense zone. Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to reunify with Taiwan and has not ruled out military force to achieve that objective. Lawmakers in Congress recently expressed concerns that Russia’s bloody endeavors in Ukraine could embolden China to attack Taiwan.
This isn’t about Taiwan’s future independence, it’s about recognizing an unmistakable already existent reality. That reality is, as many of your past & present leaders have made clear, there’s no need for Taiwan to declare independence because it’s already an independent country.
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) March 4, 2022
Pompeo received a presidential honor from Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday for bolstering ties with the island. He is widely considered a potential contender for the 2024 presidential race.
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China’s claims to Taiwan date back nearly seven decades, when the two split apart during the Chinese Civil War. On paper, the U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as a nation, but since the U.S. normalized relations with China in the 1970s, it has maintained “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan. There are only 14 countries that retain formal ties with the island, according to Al Jazeera.
The U.S. has been vague about whether it will come to Taiwan’s defense if China attempts to reclaim the island, similar to its ambivalence about Ukraine. While U.S. officials have dispatched monetary aid and voiced support for diplomatic negotiations, the Western power has been adamant it will not deploy troops.
