The U.S. Department of Defense has moved its operations in Taiwan from its East Asian office to its Chinese office, the Taiwan Associated Press reported on the 18th.
Taiwanese media reported that such a policy decision by the US Department of Defense is likely to cause controversy amid growing military tensions between the two sides (China and Taiwan) due to a series of armed demonstrations by the Chinese military in recent years.
The Yonhap reported that Defense Ministry spokesman John Suffel told the company that the adjustment would help improve policy efficiency and coordination in the future.
He added that the decision was made to maintain alignment with the organizational mechanism of the Department of Defense-related work, the command system, and administrative departments such as the State Department.
Earlier, on the 16th, the US political media Politico reported that the Ministry of National Defense had moved its Taiwan affairs from the East Asia office, which had jurisdiction over South Korea, Japan and Australia, to the Chinese office opened during the Donald Trump administration in June 2019.
A spokesperson for Suffel acknowledged the report, stressing that the decision was “nothing to change” in the United States’ “one China” policy, its commitments to allies and partners, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
In this regard, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (Republican, Alaska), who visited Taiwan in June of last year, said it was ‘all bad ideas’ to undermine the issue of the United States cooperating in Taiwan’s self-defense.
He added that the Pentagon’s decision could send a misleading signal that China might consider giving direction to US-Taiwan relations.
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia and Pacific Security Randall Schreiber said the adjustment would favor China as it could make Taiwan appear to be part of China.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had not commented on the issue so far because it was a matter of organizational structure within the US administration.
He also emphasized that the Taiwan-US cooperative relationship is very close and will promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region through continued cooperation in the future.