(Bloomberg) -- A senior U.S. State Department official is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan next week in an effort to shore up support for Taipei in the Pacific just weeks after Beijing managed to poach two of the island’s few remaining diplomatic allies in the region.
Sandra Oudkirk, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, will arrive in Taipei Monday to discuss bolstering Taiwan’s ties in the Pacific, Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien said at a briefing on Saturday.
The latest U.S. display of support for the democratically ruled island comes in the face of rising pressure from China. The Solomon Islands and Kiribati, lured by China’s $1.6 billion spending spree on aid and loans in the region, switched their diplomatic ties to Beijing in September, leaving just 15 countries that recognize Taiwan as a nation.
China’s growing reach in the Pacific is a concern for the U.S. and ally Australia. Diplomats in Washington and Canberra fear China plans to establish a naval base in Pacific Islands that would greatly enhance its ability to hamper U.S. military access in the western Pacific.
In his speech marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his government’s determination to gain control over Taiwan, saying unification is an “inevitable trend.”
While Taiwan has never been ruled by the People’s Republic, China claims the island as part of its territory and demands all countries first sever formal ties with Taiwan as a precondition for establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing.
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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