BEIJING, July 10. /TASS/. Should the US drop support for Taiwan, doubts would arise about Washington's security guarantees for other partners in the Asia-Pacific region, Andrey Kortunov, research director at the Russian International Affairs Council, told TASS.
"If the United States dropped support for Taiwan, it would deal a strong blow to the reliability of US security guarantees for other patterns in the region, including Japan, South Korea and the Philippines," said Kortunov, who visited Beijing to take part in the World Peace Forum at Tsinghua University.
He pointed out that Washington maintained ties with Taipei not only for historical reasons but also because of its economic interests. "Taiwan is the largest producer of advanced microprocessors, and the US will continue to depend on supplies from Taiwan until it launches its own plant in Arizona," the expert explained.
Kortunov believes that "China’s rise" on the international stage was the main issue in Beijing-Washington relations, while "Taiwan is an additional complicating factor." "It’s an irritant, which, unfortunately, may trigger unwanted events, making the situation spiral out of both parties’ control," the analyst said.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden said in an interview with the Time magazine that the US would intervene militarily if China were to "invade" Taiwan.
Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in China’s civil war. However, Beijing considers the island to be one of its provinces, a position shared by the majority of countries, including Russia. Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established ties with China. While recognizing the One China policy, the US continues to maintain contact with the Taipei administration and supply weapons to the island.