McCarthy meets President Tsai; calls Taiwan a ‘great friend of America’
The Hindu
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on April 6 as a “great friend of America” in a fraught show of U.S. support
Risking China's anger, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday as a “great friend of America" in a fraught show of U.S. support at a rare high-level, bipartisan meeting on U.S. soil.
Speaking carefully to avoid unnecessarily escalating tensions with Beijing, Ms. Tsai and Mr. McCarthy steered clear of calls from hard-liners in the U.S. for a more confrontational stance toward China in defence of self-ruled Taiwan.
Instead, the two leaders stood side by side in a show of unity at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, acknowledging China's threats against the island government but speaking only of maintaining longstanding U.S. policy.
“America’s support for the people of Taiwan will remain resolute, unwavering and bipartisan,” Mr. McCarthy said at a news conference later.
He evoked Reagan's peace-through-strength approach to foreign relations and emphasised “this is a bipartisan meeting of members of Congress,” not any one political party. He said U.S.-Taiwan ties are stronger than at any other point in his life.
He and Ms. Tsai spoke to reporters with Reagan's Air Force One as a backdrop.
She said the “unwavering support reassures the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated."
With a new government in place in Delhi, Singapore hopes to schedule the Ministerial Roundtable with India shortly, says Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. In an exclusive interview, he speaks about the impact of the elections on ties, the “missed opportunity” of RCEP and the new buzz around Andhra Pradesh’s capital Amaravati.