Taiwan: The office of Taiwan President Ms. Tsai Ing-wen has announced that the country’s head will make unofficial stops in the United States as she travels to visit two Central American allies, Guatemala and Belize.

In the wake of the new announcement, the administration of US President Joe Biden has tried to underscore the “personal” nature of the stops in order to avoid escalating tensions with China.

“These are called transits. Not uncommon. President Tsai has done it six times. Every single Taiwan president in recent memory has done this,” US National Security Council spokesperson Mr. John Kirby commented on the planned US stops.

Speaking at a press conference, Kirby dismissed questions that the administration might be trying to diminish the significance of any visits.

“It’s not about downplaying. It is about being factual,” the US spokesperson added.

The US has no official relations with Taiwan in favour of maintaining diplomatic ties with China, which considers the island part of its territory.

China opposes state-to-state relations between the self-governing island and other nations. Recently, Honduras signalled it would likely break its diplomatic ties with Taiwan to forge a relationship with China. If that comes to pass, the number of official diplomatic allies Taiwan has would fall to 13.

China’s Foreign Ministry condemned President Tsai’s planned trip, warning that it disapproved of any contact between the governments of the US and Taiwan.

“We again warn the Taiwan authorities that there is no way out for Taiwan independence, and any illusions about attempts to collude with external forces to seek independence and provocation are doomed to fail,” the Chinese spokesperson Mr. Wang Wenbin commented.

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