The visit of an unofficial delegation of former American security officials to Taiwan is meant to emphasize the United States’ desire to maintain peace and stability in the region, White House Indo-Pacific policy coordinator Kurt Campbell said Monday (U.S. time).
Speaking at an online event organized by the U.S. think tank The German Marshall Fund on U.S.-Europe cooperation in Asia, Campbell said the U.S. government will show its determination in the coming months to sustain high-level engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.
That will include hosting the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a special summit in Washington in March and sending an unofficial delegation to Taiwan “to underscore a consistent message of enduring support to maintain peace and stability.”
“You will see a whole range of activities across the board” Campbell said when asked whether the economic solidarity displayed by the West in response to the Ukraine conflict could lead to more economic initiatives by the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific region.
The delegation Campbell was referring to will arrive in Taiwan on Tuesday for a two-day visit and be led by Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Among the others joining him will be Meghan O’Sullivan, a former deputy national security advisor under President George W. Bush, and Michele Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense under President Barack Obama.
It will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (???) on Wednesday to discuss Taiwan-U.S. relations and cooperation, and regional peace and stability.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office has said the visit highlights the “rock-solid” relations between Taiwan and the United States.
During the online forum Monday, Campbell said there is a “deep recognition and intention” inside the U.S. government to sustain “every element of our engagement in the Indo-Pacific going forward.”
He said at many points in history, the U.S. had had to sustain deep engagements in two theaters simultaneously.
“We did it during the Second World War. We did it during the Cold War. It’s difficult, it’s expensive, but it is also essential. And I believe that we’re entering a period where that is what will be demanded of the United States and this generation of Americans,” he said.
When asked whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had changed the U.S. calculus on whether it should shift from “strategic ambiguity” to “strategic clarity” regarding Taiwan, Campbell said only that the U.S.’ policy “remains consistent, robust, bipartisan and long standing.”
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel