De facto U.S. envoy warns Taiwan is not China’s only target

New U.S. ambassador to Taiwan warns of China's intimidation, calls for international cooperation to prevent conflict.

The new de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan said Wednesday (September 4, 2024) that the democratic island is “not the only target” of China’s “intimidation and coercion”, with more countries cooperating with Washington to “avoid war”.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will never renounce the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Beijing has upped military and political pressure on Taiwan in recent years and conducted military drills in May around the island days after the inauguration of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.

“Taiwan is not the only target of PRC efforts to use intimidation and coercion to change the status quo,” said Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto U.S. embassy, using the acronym for China’s official name.

“More and more countries are realising the importance of cooperating with the United States and other like-minded partners to preserve the rules-based international system,” Mr. Greene said during his first news conference as AIT director.

U.S. efforts to build alliances in the region “are not meant to prepare for war but to prevent it”, he added.

China’s campaign of confrontation has also extended to remote reefs in Southeast Asia and far-flung Japanese islands.