US 'committed' to assisting Taiwan strengthen self-defense capabilities

US Assistant Secretary of State Clarke Cooper while talking to reporters on August 20 stated that the United States was fully committed to assisting Taiwan in meeting its self-defence requirements. Tensions between China, the United States and Taiwan are due to a number of factors ranging from US diplomatic visit to Taiwan to China’s expansive claims to the South China Sea. China has also long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and has vowed to see the island return back under its control.

Committed to helping Taiwan

During a virtual press briefing, Clarke Cooper said: "We are making sure that we are going to address self-defence capabilities for Taiwan,". He also added that the US had a ‘very deep interest’ in maintaining stable relations with Taiwan and China. Cooper during the press briefing declined to comment on any possible future sales of Arms and stated that he could not talk about deals that have not yet been announced.

Last Week Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen announced that Taiwan planned to increase its military budget and that her country would continue to rely on supports from the United States. While the United States, as well as many other countries, do not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation because it official follows the ‘One China Policy’. But despite that, the US has maintained informal relations with Taipei and recently Taiwan was visited by US health secretary Alex Azar which marks the highest diplomatic mission by the US to Taiwan in four decades.

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Taiwan Government Accuses China

Taiwan government has accused China of launching a cyberattack on its agencies. According to reports, Chinese hackers allegedly infiltrated 10 Taiwanese government agencies and gained access to 6,000 email accounts in an attempt to steal data from the authorities.

The full impact and damage of the alleged security breach is still being investigated by authorities. The data breach was reported on August 19 and preliminary reports have suggested that the damage done was substantial. Taiwan has accused China of launching constant cyberattacks since 2016, ever since President Tsai Ing-wen was elected. The Taiwanese leader has repeatedly refused to acknowledge that the island is part of ‘one China’.

(Input Credit ANI)

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