The US secretary of state insists that Washington’s policy on the island is “unchanged” after Xi Jinping said mishandling the issue could lead to conflict
Washington’s policy on Taiwan remains unchanged and any attempt by China to break the status quo would be a “terrible mistake,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
Rubio made the remarks in an interview with NBC News on Friday, while traveling with President Donald Trump on the first state visit by a US leader to China in nearly a decade. The agenda for the visit revolves around the Iran war, trade disputes, Taiwan, and AI rivalry.
During the trip, Chinese leader Xi Jinping named Taiwan as “the most important issue in China-US relations,” warning that if the two nations fail to handle it correctly, they “may clash or even come into conflict.”
Rubio stressed that “US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today, and as of the meeting that we had here today,” adding that “we know where they stand, and I think they know where we stand.”
On the prospect of Beijing seizing the self-governing island, Rubio said “it would be a terrible mistake to force that through force or anything of that nature.” He went on to warn that there “would be repercussions for that globally, not just from the United States.”
At the same time, he acknowledged that China would prefer “to have Taiwan willingly, voluntarily join them in a perfect world” through “some vote or a referendum.”
Rubio also recalled that the US adheres to a principle of strategic ambiguity on Taiwan – a long-standing policy of declining to specify whether it would militarily defend the island – stressing that the approach has held “across multiple presidential administrations and remains consistent now.”
On US arms sales to Taiwan, Rubio said the issue “did not feature primarily” in the US-China talks, adding that any decision regarding future shipments depends in a large part on Congress.
China deems Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory – a position shared by the vast majority of countries, including Russia. The US also acknowledges Beijing’s One China policy but maintains a strong relationship with the self-governing island. In 2022, Xi said Beijing would prefer a peaceful reunification with the island, but has not ruled out the use of force.
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