US steps up support for Taiwan in defiance of China

Washington on Monday announced the establishment of a new bilateral economic dialog with Taiwan in a bid to strengthen their bilateral relations. The US also said it had declassified six security assurances given to Taiwan under the administration of former US president Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. They include statements that the US has not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, nor agreed to prior consultation with Beijing on such sales. The State Department’s top diplomat for East Asia, David Stilwell, claimed the latest moves were not a policy shift but were part of a set of “significant…