Sandra Oudkirk, the head of the American Institute in Taiwan, said during a press conference in Taipei yesterday that the United States is committed to helping Taiwan defend itself amid heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing, reported Reuters. In her first news conference since assuming her post in July, she described U.S. relations with Taiwan as “rock-solid.’ Oudkirk said that “The United States has a commitment to help Taiwan provide for its self-defence.”
She didn’t apparently say that the US would come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack from the mainland, but what she did say was still enough to earn a rebuke from Beijing. “Don’t play with fire, or it will severely impact China-U.S. relations and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan’s defense minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, meanwhile, said that Taiwan must defend itself and not depend entirely on others for help if China were to launch an attack. “The country must rely on itself, and if any friends or other groups can help us, then it’s like I said before, we’re happy to have it, but we cannot completely depend on it,” he told reporters after being questioned in the legislature as part of a session on national defense.
