Pompeo Adds Taiwan Provocation, Seeking To Force China-U.S. Decoupling

May 20, 2020 (EIRNS)—Mike Pompeo yesterday sent a greeting to Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on the occasion of her being sworn in for a second term, with clear intent to threaten U.S. commitment to the “One China” policy which is an inviolable foundation for U.S.-Chinese relations. It was the first time in decades that a U.S. Secretary of State had congratulated a Taiwanese leader, and he did so in the most provocative manner possible, repeatedly referring to Tsai, who advocates independence from China, as “President” and Taiwan as a “partner” of the United States.

Pompeo praised Tsai’s “courage and vision” as “an inspiration for the region and the world. The United States has long considered Taiwan a force for good in the world and a reliable partner,” he wrote. He asserted that “support for Taiwan in the United States is bipartisan and unanimous, as demonstrated by the recent enactment of the TAIPEI Act which strengthens our overall relationship and supports a closer economic partnership” (true as far as Congress and the two parties are concerned, but there is no “unanimous” support by the American people for treating Taiwan as a separate nation).

“We have a shared vision for the region,” Pompeo concluded. “As we look toward the future, I am confident that, with President Tsai at the helm, our partnership with Taiwan will continue to flourish.”

Pompeo’s message, read at the inauguration, was buttressed by similar taped video messages to the virtual ceremony from Matt Pottinger, senior director of the U.S. National Security Council (his in Mandarin) and David Stilwell, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Both China’s Foreign and Defense Ministries warned the United States that such stoking of separatism in Taiwan threatens U.S.-Chinese relations and peace.

“There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory,” as is stipulated in the China-U.S. Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, Foreign Ministry press spokesman Zhao Lijian reminded today. “Practices that undermine China’s core interests and intervene in China’s domestic affairs will be met with forceful fightback.... China will take necessary measures in response to the U.S. erroneous practices, and the consequences will be borne by the U.S. side.”

A statement from China’s Defense Ministry warned that Pompeo’s message “seriously endangered relations between the two countries and two militaries and seriously damaged peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” The People’s Liberation Army has a “firm will, full confidence, and sufficient capacity to frustrate any form of external interference and Taiwan independence plots,” it specified.