TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The visits made by American officials to Taiwan in recent months have stirred up anger from the other side of the strait.
In the latest TVBS Meeting Room segment, host Wenchi Yu asked former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper if there have been changes to U.S.'s views toward the One China policy.
"I think the long-standing United States policy has been not to provoke China," Esper responded.
He pointed out that the "policy speaks to no unilateral changes in the status quo through military means" but added that he believes the Chinese government has changed the status quo.
Indicating China's increased military drills around Taiwan in the past few years, the "Sacred Oath" author hopes the U.S. could review its "One China" policy and strategic ambiguity policy toward Taiwan.
However, as Taiwan is on the frontlines and the first to be affected should Beijing's anger boil over, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu admitted it's a delicate balance between not provoking China and establishing more international ties with other countries.
"We understand that there are things that we need to be very careful about, especially when it comes to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait," Wu said.
Still, "we also need to think about the Chinese motivations and their objectives over Taiwan."
The minister emphasized the importance of establishing friendships with the global community as China seeks to isolate Taiwan from the rest of the world.
"These should not be considered as provocation because these are just building friendship."
As Taiwan prepares for its annual military Han Kuang drills, the world's attention is on the country and its influential neighbor on the other side of the strait.
