Despite Communist China’s increased incursions and other aggression against Taiwan, nominee favors status quo
WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, today pressed Ambassador Nicholas Burns, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to China, on whether it is time for the U.S. to revisit the issue of strategic ambiguity with respect to Taiwan.
“It’s clear that the Chinese Communist Party is stepping up its military posture in the Taiwan Strait. The world is alarmed, and Taiwan could be the first domino to fall in the Indo-Pacific. Ambassador, what’s your view on the Taiwan issue and should the United States revisit the issue of strategic ambiguity with respect to Taiwan,” Senator Hagerty asked.
Despite Chinese buildup and aggressive posture toward Taiwan, Burns signaled to Hagerty that he favors the status quo, which is also a signal to Beijing.
“My own view is that we’re better off and we’ll be more effective in staying with the One China Policy of the last four decades,” Burns responded.
Senator Hagerty recently led a letter with a group of lawmakers to Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) seeking regular Member-level classified briefings and open full committee hearings with cabinet-level officials from the Biden Administration about U.S. strategy toward Communist China and U.S. policy regarding Taiwan.
The State Department was recently forced to correct President Biden’s erroneous and confusing claim to reporters that he and Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, would abide by a “Taiwan agreement” between the United States and China.
*Click the photo above or here to watch*