Indiana's Republican governor met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen after two recent high-profile visits by US politicians that drew China's ire and its military drills.
Eric Holcomb landed in Taiwan on Sunday for an "economic development trip".
(AFP)
Indiana's Republican governor, Eric Holcomb, has met Taiwan's president, days after Washington announced trade talks with Taipei.
The meeting comes amid rising US-China tensions since Beijing staged huge military drills in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan earlier this month.
Holcomb landed in Taiwan on Sunday for an "economic development trip".
In her meeting with Holcomb on Monday, President Tsai Ing-wen directly referenced Beijing's drills and called for like-minded countries to continue supporting Taiwan.
"Taiwan has been confronted by military threats from China in and around the Taiwan Strait. At this moment democratic allies must stand together and boost cooperation across all areas," she said.
Holcomb said the United States and Taiwan "share so many common values and interests and goals".
"We will continue to seek to build a strategic partnership with you," he said.
READ MORE: US says it doesn't support Taiwan's independenceTrade talksHolcomb is also expected to meet representatives of Taiwan's world-leading semiconductor industry before leaving on Wednesday for South Korea.
Alongside South Korea, Taiwan makes some of the world's smallest and most advanced computer chips – a commodity that is vital for electronics but in short supply worldwide.
Holcomb's visit comes on the heels of the announcement of trade talks between Washington and Taipei in the coming months as a senior US diplomat warned Beijing will continue to put pressure on Taiwan.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland.
Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step US leaders say they don’t support.
READ MORE: China sanctions Taiwanese 'independence diehard' officials
Source: AFP
Senior US diplomat Wendy Sherman visits for three days to mark 80th anniversary of World War II Battle of Guadalcanal and to re-engage in the area where Beijing holds sway.
US announced this year it plans to re-establish an embassy in the Solomons nearly 30 years after closing its last mission.
(TRTWorld)
A high-ranking US delegation is on a visit to the Solomon Islands, as Washington wrestles with Beijing for influence in the region months after the Pacific nation signed a security pact with China.
China's growing might in the Asia-Pacific will be on display on Saturday as it continues to stage military drills encircling Taiwan in a show of force following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman heads the US delegation visiting the Solomons for three days to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal.
Sherman's father was a Marine who was seriously injured in the battle, a major offensive over six months in 1942 and 1943 that triggered a Japanese withdrawal and marked the start of major Allied operations in the Pacific.
The United States announced this year it plans to re-establish an embassy in the Solomons nearly 30 years after closing its last mission.
China, which has an embassy in the Solomons with close ties to its government, alarmed Western rivals by signing a security pact with the island in April.
The deal, which some critics fear could lead to China gaining a military foothold in the South Pacific, is likely high on the agenda for the US visit.
"It's a difficult path for the US to tread in a sense that, obviously, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare really values his country's relationship with China," Mihai Sora, a research fellow in the Pacific Islands Program at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, told the AFP news agency.
"The notion that he would have to pick between the US and China would not be welcomed. He will be looking for a way to work with both the US and China."
But not everyone in the Solomons supports growing security ties with China, he added: "It's a double-edged sword."
The Solomons severed ties with Taiwan in September 2019 in favour of diplomatic relations with China, a switch that unlocked investment but stoked inter-island rivalries.
Last November, protests against Sogavare's rule escalated into riots in the capital Honiara, during which much of the city's Chinatown was torched before Australia led an international peacekeeping mission to help restore calm.
On the home front, the Solomons prime minister is being accused by the opposition of undermining democracy.
Sogavare has reiterated his government's intention to defer general elections from next April until after the Pacific Games, which the Solomons hosts in November 2023.
China is financing a national stadium complex reportedly worth $53 million to host the Games.
US Ambassador to China Gen. George C. Marshall with Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek (right), and his wife, Soong Mei-ling, in China in 1943. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
During the Chinese civil war, the United States backed the ruling Nationalist government, led by the Kuomintang. The Soviet Union supported the Chinese Communist Party, which eventually took power and established the People's Republic of China.
The US continued to support the Kuomintang, or KMT, government after it retreated to Taiwan following its defeat. The US provided the KMT with development assistance to build its economy and initially shunned the People's Republic as an ideological and military adversary.
But following a diplomatic conflict between Beijing and Moscow in the 1960s — known as the Sino-Soviet split — relations between the US and the People's Republic began to thaw.
By 1979, the US had joined a growing list of nations to formally switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The One China policy: In what is known as the "One China" policy, Washington recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China. It also acknowledges Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of China. However, the US has never accepted the Communist Party's claim of sovereignty over the island.
Meanwhile, the US continues to retain close unofficial ties with Taiwan under the terms of the decades-old Taiwan Relations Act, facilitating commercial, cultural and other exchanges through the American Institute in Taiwan — the de facto US Embassy in Taipei.
Strategic ambiguity: The US maintains close unofficial ties with Taiwan, and is bound by law to provide Taiwan with defensive arms.But it remains deliberately vague on whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, a policy known as ��strategic ambiguity.”
This is meant to dissuade any such invasion by keeping open the possibility of a US military response. At the same time, it's meant to avoid giving Taiwan the sort of assurance that could prompt it to declare official independence. The goal is to preserve the status quo and to avoid a war in Asia — and so far it appears to have worked, allowing Washington to walk the tightrope of relations with both sides.
Biden's remarks: But under Biden, some observers say that "strategic ambiguity" has become somewhat less ambiguous. Since taking office, Biden has said on three occasions the US would be willing to intervene militarily should the Chinese attack Taiwan — though the White House has rushed to walk back his remarks each time.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offering Fatiha for Colonel Laiq Baig Mirza Shaheed. — APP
QUETTA: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday visited the residence of Lieutenant Colonel Laiq Baig Mirza, a high-ranking official of the Pakistan Army who embraced martyrdom last month.
During his visit, PM Shahbaz met with the martyr’s family and paid tribute to his service to the nation.
“No nation can ever be grateful enough to its martyrs for their supreme sacrifice of life,” tweeted the premier.
In his tweet, PM Shahbaz further wrote that the sacrifices of true patriots like him ensure that anti-Pakistan forces will never succeed.
Lieutenant Colonel Mirza was martyred after terrorists abducted and shot him dead last month, a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
According to the military's media wing, on the night of July 12/13 a group of 10-12 terrorists abducted Lt Col Laiq Shaheed, who was serving in DHA Quetta, along with his cousin Umer Javed near Warchoom, Ziarat, as they were returning to Quetta after visiting Quaid-e-Azam's residency.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with flood victims in Balochistan. — Twitter/@GovtofPakistan
QUETTA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday visited Balochistan to monitor the on-going relief work in the province, as it grapples with torrential rains claiming lives of over 120 people.
Heavy downpour in Balochistan have wreaked havoc, damaging property and claiming lives. Over 6,000 homes have been torn down completely, while more than 10,000 are said to be partially damaged.
In the wake of the destructive rains, PM Shehbaz on Thursday formed a committee comprised of federal ministers. The committee was directed to visit the areas affected by flooding and was also asked submit a report in the four days.
Speaking with journalists during the visit, PM Shehbaz announced a relief package. He said that RS1 million will be given to families who have lost their members to the flood’s devastations; Rs50,000 were announced for people whose homes were destroyed, while owners of houses that suffered partial damaged will be given Rs200,000.
The PM, however, did not share a timeline for disbursement of these funds.
“We have formed a committee to assess the losses of livestock and damage to the crops,” he said, adding that the committee will conduct surveys in liaison with the provinces and will stay in touch with the administration of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The premier also stated that the committee's meeting has been called in Islamabad on August 3. PM Shehbaz lamented that the rains have killed 124 in Balochistan, while Geo News has reported the loss of at least 125 lives.
The PM added that over 300 people have been lost their lives in rain-related incidents across the country.
PM's activities during visit
During the visit, the prime minister took an aerial view of flood-affected areas of Balochistan, while Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Aqaili briefed him about damages caused by heavy rains and floods.
PM Shehbaz was also briefed on ongoing relief activities in the affected areas. Later, the prime minister also visited Jhal Magsi and met flood-affected people in Shambani.
He directed the provision of medicines and the establishment of a relief camp beside the deployment of a veterinary doctor for the treatment of cattle in affected areas.
The prime minister also directed officials to expedite relief operations in all areas and provision of rations to people.
Earlier, the prime minister had also visited Jacobabad where he was briefed about relief activities in flood-affected areas.
Rescue operation by Navy underway
The Pakistan Navy is providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support to the people stranded in flash floods affected areas of Urki, Uthal, Lakhra, and other small isolated hutments of Lasbela District.
In a statement, the navy said that Commander Coast Rear Admiral Javed Iqbal, along with officials of the district administration, undertook an aerial visit of the flood-hit areas to review relief activities.
Pakistan Navy helicopters undertook multiple hops from Uthal to the affected areas to airdrop rations near people trapped in their homes.
"Airdrop of relief goods by helicopters has emerged as the most effective way of providing relief to people who could not be reached as road infrastructure has been wiped away by floods," the statement said.
During the operation by Pakistan Navy helicopters, a critically ill woman and five other people trapped in floods were rescued and evacuated to Uthal for medical treatment.
Apart from the navy, the provincial government, district administration, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Pakistan Army, and Frontier Corps are also engaged in rescue and relief operations.
Sindh, KP announce support for victims of flooding
Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah a day earlier telephoned Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Qudus Bizenjo and expressed solidarity with him in these distressing times, offering complete support.
During the call, CM Sindh offered every kind of support to his counterpart for the rehabilitation of the rain-affected people.
“We had sent 500 tents to Lasbela on Wednesday and dispatched 100 more tents to Uthal on Friday,” he said, adding that the Relief Department Sindh would coordinate with the concerned divisional commissioners in Balochistan for the dispatch of other relief items.
Seperately, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan Saturday announced a relief package for the flood affectees of Balochistan and directed the relevant authorities to ensure the provision of the announced package to flood-hit people within the next 24 hours.
As per special directives of the chief minister, 32 trucks of relief packages from the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be dispatched to the flood-hit people of Balochistan.
The relief package includes, 1,000 tents, 1,000 mattresses, 1,000 hygiene kits, 1,000 blankets, 1,000 quilts, 1,000 tarpaulin sheets, 1,000 mosquito nets, and 20 number of dewatering pumps.
Similarly, essential medicines and 1,000 food packages are also part of the relief package.
More rainfall predicted
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast more rains across the country, including Balochistan — which means that the people's misery will prolong and rescue works will be hampered.
The meteorological department forecast more rains in Khuzdar, Zhob, Barkhan, Kohlu, Musa Khel, Sherani, Sibbi and Bolan for the next 24 hours.
