TAIPEI, Taiwan — The U.S. dedicated a new de-facto embassy in Taiwan on Tuesday in what officials described as an indicator of robust ties with the self-governing island democracy that China claims as its own territory.
The ceremony, which drew an angry response from Beijing, is the latest sign of how the administration of President Donald Trump has strengthened relations with Taipei amid a litany of disputes with China and rising tensions in the highly militarized Taiwan Strait.
The recently completed American Institute in Taiwan office in a suburb of the capital Taipei will house U.S. representatives and serves American interests in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. AIT Director Kin W. Moy — the U.S. ambassador in all but name — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and a senior State Department official from Washington, attended Tuesday’s ceremony, which Beijing slammed as harmful to U.S.-China ties.
“We should all be proud of this milestone, which is a symbol of the close cooperation and enduring friendship between the United States and Taiwan,” Moy said at the dedication ceremony.