Taiwan–United States relations
Bilateral relations / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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After the United States established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1979 and recognized Beijing as the only legal government of China, Taiwan–United States relations became unofficial and informal following terms of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which allows the United States to have relations with the Taiwanese people and their government, whose name is not specified.[1][2][3] U.S.–Taiwan relations were further informally grounded in the "Six Assurances" in response to the third communiqué on the establishment of US–PRC relations. The Taiwan Travel Act, passed by the U.S. Congress on March 16, 2018, allows high-level U.S. officials to visit Taiwan and vice versa.[4] Both sides have since signed a consular agreement formalizing their existent consular relations on September 13, 2019.[5] The US government removed self-imposed restrictions on executive branch contacts with Taiwan on January 9, 2021.[6]
Taiwan |
United States |
---|---|
Diplomatic mission | |
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States | American Institute in Taiwan |
Envoy | |
Representative Alexander Yui | Chair Laura Rosenberger |
Taiwan – United States relations | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 臺灣與美國關係 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 台湾与美国关系 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Republic of China - United States relations | |||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 中華民國與美國關係 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 中华民国与美国关系 | ||||||||||||
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Over the past four decades, the U.S. government's policy of deliberate ambiguity toward Taiwan has been viewed as critical to stabilizing cross-strait relations by seeking to deter the PRC from using force toward the region and dissuade Taiwan from seeking independence.[7][8] However, in recent years as Beijing escalated its moves and further clarified its intentions, the effectiveness of strategic ambiguity became a topic of debate in academic and policy communities.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] In 2021 and 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden made various forceful comments about coming to Taiwan's military defense in the event of a PRC invasion, indicating what scholars called a potential shift to "strategic clarity,"[16][17] while the State Department reiterated that the administration's Taiwan policy remained unchanged.[18][19][20][21]
As stipulated by the TRA, the United States remains the main provider of arms to Taiwan, which has often been a source of tension with the PRC.[22] Both states maintain representative offices functioning as de facto embassies. Taiwan is represented by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO),[23] while the U.S. government is represented by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).[24]