U.S. wants to maintain dialogue with Taiwan: official
ROC Central News Agency
2016/03/08 12:44:31
Washington, March 7 (CNA) The United States wants to maintain dialogue with Taiwan, which is a strong partner of the country, a U.S. State Department official said Monday.
Mark Toner, deputy spokesman of the department, was asked during a regular press briefing if the U.S. government had any issues to bring up with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) during his transit stops in Houston and Los Angeles on his way to and from Central America later this month.
Toner responded that he did not have anything to announce in terms of whom Ma might speak with in the U.S. government.
'But we want to obviously remain in dialogue with Taiwan. It's a strong partner. And while I don't have anything to announce, I also can't say that we won't be speaking to the president when he transits,' he said.
On a rumor that Ma was not able to transit in the eastern United States because Washington was not happy with his visit to Taiping Island in the South China Sea in January, Toner referred the media to remarks made by the State Department at that time, in which it expressed it concern about those actions.
He reiterated that the U.S. government abides by the 'one China' policy, based on its three joint communiques with China and the Taiwan Relations Act.
He said the United States has a deep and abiding interest in cross-Taiwan Strait stability and encourages both sides to exercise flexibility and restraint and to continue their constructive dialogue.
Ma is scheduled to visit two of Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Central America -- Guatemala and Belize -- from March 13 and March 19.
(By Tony Liao and Y.F. Low)
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