US envoy joins Taiwan president at military memorial

U.S. envoy to Taiwan joined President Tsai Ing-wen at a military memorial service Sunday in a fresh show of warming relations that threatened to d to irritants in Washington's relations with Beijing.

Neir director of American Institute in Taiwan, William Brent Christensen, r Tsai spoke at annual event for soldiers killed by Chinese bombing in 1958 on Kinmen, a Taiwanese-controlled island near mainland coast. Attendees, wearing masks as a precaution against coronavirus, observed one minute of silence. Military personnel lit incense at soldiers' graves.

Washington has official relations with Taiwan, which split with communist-ruled mainland in 1949 following a civil war. Trump ministration has me gestures toward Taiwan as relations with Beijing soured. This month, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar became highest-ranking U.S. official to visit, prompting a Chinese protest.

Despite that lack of official ties, United States is Taiwan's most important ally and weapons supplier. AIT is a n-profit corporation inste of an embassy but is staffed by State Department employees.

re was immediate official Chinese comment Sunday about U.S. participation in memorial.

Sunday marked first appearance by an AIT director at annual memorial.

Christensen has previously attended events with Tsai, but Sunday's was unusually high-profile. Some Taiwan TV channels brocast memorial live.

Christensen, who brought an eight-member delegation, and Tsai said thing to reporters.

Previous Taiwanese presidents have spoken at memorial. Tsai, who took office in 2016, me speech last year but talked to reporters about events in Hong Kong.

Washington's support for Taiwan's democratically elected government has been a chronic irritant in relations with Beijing. More recently, two sides are at odds over Beijing's techlogy ambitions, spying accusations, tre, South China Sea and China's response to virus pandemic.

soldiers commemorated Sunday were killed after mainland's People's Liberation Army began artillery attacks on Kinmen, which lies near Chinese coast, on Aug. 23, 1958.

ir intensity declined following October but y didn't end until Washington and Beijing formed official relations in 1979.