Taiwan thanks US for support

Taiwan thanked the U.S. on Friday for expressing its support and commitment to peace and stability and for reaffirmingits Taiwan policy has not changed, ahead of the second day of President Donald Trump’s state visit to China. The U.S. is Chinese-claimed Taiwan’s most important international backer and is bound by law to provide it with the means to defend itself. China has demanded such arms sales stop. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday confirmed the issue of democratically governed Taiwan had come up in Trump’s talks with President Xi Jinping but that U.S. policy towards the island is unchanged. In a statement released by his ministry, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung thanked the U.S. for repeatedly expressing its support for and emphasis on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and for reaffirming its Taiwan policy has not changed. The ministry added that China’s military continues to operate around Taiwan carrying out “harassment and intimidation”.