China’s Foreign Ministry has already lodged a complaint with the US over the new American Institute in Taiwan building. The US said the new complex represented the “strength and vibrancy of the US-Taiwan partnership.”The United States on Tuesday opened a new $256-million (€225-million) representative office in Taiwan’s capital, in a move that is likely to increase tensions between the US and China.
The American Institute in Taiwan has functioned as Washington’s de facto embassy in democratic self-ruled island Taiwan since 1979.
It was opened to conduct relations with Taiwan following Washington’s decision to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
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The new building is a significant upgrade from the low-key military building that AIT has used for decades and will serve as the representative office later this summer, said AIT Director Kin Moy at the opening ceremony.
The site spreads over 6.5 hectares, including Chinese gardens, in Taipei’s Neihu district. AIT’s Taipei office has almost 500 American and local employees, while its Kaohsiung branch has more than 30 staff.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Tuesday said it had lodged stern representations with the US about the new AIT building.
A symbol of ‘close cooperation’
Moy said the new building was “a symbol of the close cooperation and enduring friendship between the United States and Taiwan.”
The US has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but continues to have close economic, political and security ties with the democratic self-ruled island. It is Taiwan’s strongest ally and only foreign arms supplier.
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Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said the new complex was a confirmation of both the US and Taiwan’s commitment to a “vital relationship.”
“The friendship between Taiwan and the US has never been more promising. The great story of Taiwan-US relations remains to be filled with the efforts of those that will one day occupy this building,” Tsai said.
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Marie Royce, US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, said the complex was a symbol of the strength and vibrancy of the US-Taiwan partnership.
“We have faced many trials along this journey, but we have risen to the challenge at every turn, knowing that our shared commitment to democracy would see us through,” said Royce, who is the highest-ranking State Department official to visit Taiwan since 2015.
‘US cannot be their savior’
The widely read Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times on Tuesday said China needed to warn Taiwan and the US against provocation.
“The mainland must continue to build up its deterrence against Taiwanese authorities, making them know that the US cannot be their savior,” it said in an editorial on the opening of the new office.
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China continues to claim self-ruled Taiwan under its “one China,” which Taiwan rejects, and China’s hostility towards Taiwan has only grown since President Tsai was elected in 2016.
Beijing suspects Tsai wants to push for formal independence, which would cross a red line in Beijing.
Recently, Taiwan lost two diplomatic allies after they switched ties to China, while some international companies have changed their websites to show the island’s designation as being part of China.
law/rc (AP, Reuters)
