US, Taiwan agree to new dialogue in China rebuke

(19 Mar 2019) Taiwan and the US will hold talks later this year as part of upgraded efforts to counter Beijing's growing pressure on the island for political unification. The talks planned for September in Taipei will include a senior official from Washington, de facto US ambassador to Taipei William Brent Christensen said Tuesday. ""The United States and Taiwan have agreed to establish a new annual dialogue called the Indo-Pacific Democratic Governance Consultations," said Christensen. The US has formal diplomatic relations with China but maintains strong ties with Taiwan though the American Institute in Taiwan, its de facto embassy in Taipei. The de facto US ambassador said the consultations with Taiwan should not be regarded as the US government seeking to provoke China. "We believe it's possible to have a good relationship with Taiwan and a good relationship with China at the same time," Christensen said. "Things we do with Taiwan should not be regarded as things that we are doing because we are seeking to provoke China or vice-versa." US President Donald Trump has elevated 40 years of informal ties with Taiwan through more open contacts and planned arms deals. Meanwhile, China and the US are enmeshed in a dispute over trade, copyrights and tariffs, raising economic and political frictions to their highest level in a decade. Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu said he hopes the consultation serves "as a platform for more direct and closer cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and the United States to defend and promote, share values of democracy, human rights, freedom and good governance in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond."    Taiwan has been democratically ruled for about 30 years. It allows freedom of expression and religion in contrast to China's tight restrictions under authoritarian Communist Party rule, and remains a close US ally in the Asia-Pacific region. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/31a32c077d31218a39dacccc7b7f4fdb