TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan and the United States have signed their first agreement under the Biden administration, establishing a Coast Guard working group to coordinate policy, following the passage of a law allowing the Biden your coast guard shoot at alien ships.
The new government of U.S. President Joe Biden has moved to reassure Taiwan, which claimed the Chinese, that its commitment to the island is solid.
Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim, signed the deal in Washington on Thursday, his office said in a statement.
“We hope that with the new Coast Guard Working Group, both sides will forge a stronger partnership and jointly contribute even more to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
Sung Kim, assistant acting secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, attended the signing ceremony, the office said.
The American Institute of Taiwan, which manages U.S. ties to the island, said the United States supported “Taiwan’s significant participation and contributions to issues of global concern, including maritime security.”
Taiwan is improving its coastguard with new vessels, which can be incorporated into naval service in the event of war, as the island is engaged in increasing invasions by Chinese fishing vessels and sand dredgers in Taiwan-controlled waters.
Although the United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it is the island’s largest international supplier and shipowner.
China passed a law in January that for the first time explicitly allows its Coast Guard to fire on foreign ships, causing concern at the regional level and in Washington. China has rejected these concerns.
Taiwan’s Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said on Friday that China’s new law had surprised the region and that those with “common values” needed to work together to protect peace.
“This unilateral request for the Coast Guard to use force will cause great tension and pressure on neighboring countries,” he told reporters.
China also has maritime sovereignty disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea.
Report by Ben Blanchard