The de facto US envoy to Taiwan, Laura Rosenberger, has arrived in Taipei for her third visit in seven months, as the island gears up for a presidential election that has been framed as a stark choice between war or peace with mainland China.
Rosenberger, chairwoman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) – the de facto US embassy on the island – met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in a closed-door meeting on Monday to discuss security, economic and other issues, according to Tsai’s office.
Rosenberger, along with Michael Pignatello, a senior advisor to the US State Department’s East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau, landed in Taipei late Sunday for a five-day visit.
Taiwan urges US to speed up weapons deliveries, boost defence supply chain
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“They will meet high-level government officials and [representatives] of all walks of life to exchange views on such important topics as Taiwan-US relations, regional security, economy, trade and investment,” the island’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
The ministry said it warmly welcomed Rosenberger’s visit – her third since she became the AIT head in March – as it demonstrated “her strong enthusiasm for advancing Taiwan-US relations.”
“Based on solid and firm relations of our two sides, we look forward to keeping close communication and cooperation with Chair Rosenberger to further deepen and expand the comprehensive partnership between Taiwan and the US in all areas,” it said.
The former key security aide to US President Joe Biden first visited Taiwan in April, just one month after she became head of the AIT. She traveled to the island again in June where she met three presidential candidates and discussed a variety of issues with them.
The candidates – Ko Wen-je, head of the smaller opposition Taiwan’s People Party; Vice-President William Lai Ching-te from the ruling independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, and New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih of the main opposition Kuomintang party – also met her during their separate US visits this year.
Rosenberger has repeatedly stressed the US will not take sides in the island’s presidential poll scheduled to be held alongside the legislative elections on January 13.
“The United States … looks forward to working with whomever the Taiwan voters choose as their next leader,” she said on Wednesday at a seminar for the think tank Global Taiwan Institute in Washington.
“As we have been getting to know the candidates, we have been committed to engaging with them on a fair and equal basis,” she said, adding Washington also opposed outside interference by any actor in Taiwan’s elections, and that its policy would remain the same regardless of the polls’ outcome.
The US, like other countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but is opposed to any unilateral change to the cross-strait status quo by force.
The January election has been framed by the KMT as a choice between war or peace with the mainland, which views the island as its territory which must be taken back under its control, by force if necessary.
The KMT, which believes warm relations with Beijing would be the best guarantee of Taiwan’s security, says the DPP’s anti-mainland policy could only lead to cross-strait conflict.
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Rosenberger’s trip came as Hou and Ko were trying to form a coalition to challenge the DPP’s Lai, the front-runner in the race.
Aides for the two candidates met in their first meeting on Saturday to discuss a possible joint ticket to take on Lai, but talks broke off after heated disputes over how to choose the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
