While China paraded its military, US and Taiwan’s defence officials held secret talks in Alaska: Report

Amid the brewing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, a report revealed that the defence officials from the US and Taiwan held secret talks in Alaska last week. Sources familiar with the matter told The Financial Times that the meeting between the two sides took place just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping flaunted his country’s military might at a historic parade attended by several world leaders.

The meeting was held between Jed Royal, the Pentagon’s top Indo-Pacific official, and Hsu Szu-chien, then Taiwan’s deputy national security adviser, in Anchorage, according to the people familiar with the matter.

It is pertinent to note that the talks also came months after a Washington meeting between more senior American and Taiwanese officials was cancelled over concerns that it could derail a potential bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Is Trump willing to support Taiwan?

What makes the meeting in Alaska significant is the fact that it was held amid questions about how far Trump is willing to support Taiwan as he seeks a summit with Xi to end the ongoing Trade war between the two nations.

“The Trump administration may be trying to thread the needle between assuring Taiwan and keeping the possibility of a trade deal and summit with China alive,” Amanda Hsiao, China director at Eurasia Group, told The Financial Times. Hsiao maintained that China would have protested more had the defence meeting been held at the ministerial level in the greater Washington area.

It is important to note that Royal is serving in an acting capacity while the Trump administration waits for its nominee, John Noh, to be confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, last week, Hsu was elevated to a more senior role advising Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s national security adviser.

In Taiwan, Hsu is touted as a leading contender to become the country’s next ambassador to Washington. The US delegation meeting, which was called off in June, was due to be led by Elbridge Colby, the top defence policy official. Meanwhile, Wellington Koo, Taiwan’s defence minister, had been expected to lead the Taiwanese delegation.

At that time, the Trump administration called off the meeting at the last minute, telling Taipei the move was related to its military strikes on Iran. However, some experts pointed out that the meeting was called off at a time when the US and Chinese officials were holding trade negotiations, noting that the negotiations could pave the way to a summit in Beijing.

US officials close to the matter told The Financial Times that the decision to meet in Alaska was a deliberate attempt to make the talks less high-profile. However, the source maintained that the composition of the US team was partly due to scheduling constraints on its part.