Washington. December 5th. INTERFAX - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, speaking at a conference at the Ronald Reagan Foundation in California, said that the US will continue to assist Taiwan in protecting against the use of force against it.
"We remain committed to the one-China policy, as well as commitments to maintain Taiwan's ability to defend itself in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, while maintaining the ability to resist any use of force that would endanger the security of the people of Taiwan," he said.
According to him, the United States is "now working to strengthen deterrence, and not seeking to change the status quo."
The minister said that Washington "is going to be open and frank with the leaders of China." Therefore, the United States is "actively looking for open lines of communication with the heads of the defense departments of the People's Republic of China," and American diplomats and the military are "taking steps to reduce the risk and prevent miscalculations."
In recent months, tensions in the Taiwan Strait area have been growing, Taiwan complains about repeated flights of Chinese Air Force aircraft near the island
Austin said that these flights can be considered as "rehearsals", although he did not specify what kind of rehearsals.
