U.S. Keeps Trade and National Security Separate, Says Treasury Secretary

TaiwanPlus News

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has rejected reports that Taiwan President Lai Ching-te may have been denied a U.S. stopover on a planned overseas trip while the U.S. conducts sensitive trade talks with China, saying Washington keeps trade and national security issues separate.

Transcript

00:00A trip to Latin America? Or maybe not?

00:03Speculation is stirring that Taiwan President Lai Qingde has delayed an August visit to Latin American allies

00:09after Washington blocked his stopovers in the U.S.,

00:12with some media reports suggesting the U.S. is trying to avoid irritating China amid high-stakes tariff talks.

00:19But when asked, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson denied this.

00:23We are very careful to keep trade and national security separate.

00:28So the Taiwanese president's movements had nothing to do with our talks.

00:35The U.S. State Department also responded,

00:37stressing that the U.S. had not changed its policy on stopovers by high-level Taiwanese officials.

00:43Taiwan has not announced any travel plans for President Lai.

00:47So that is generally a hypothetical.

00:49Now, I know it's been in the news.

00:50There's been a lot of questions and a lot of suppositions here that have happened.

00:54But I can say that it is a hypothetical at this point.

00:58There have been no plans, travel plans for the president.

01:04There's been, as a result, nothing canceled.

01:06I can tell you, though, a reiteration that transits by high-level Taiwan officials,

01:11including presidents, are fully consistent with our long-standing policy and practice.

01:16This has not changed.

01:17The reactions come after Taiwan's presidential office on Monday said Lai had no plans for overseas trips in the near future.

01:25This raised some questions, as while Lai's Latin American tour was never officially confirmed by Taipei,

01:31local and international media had widely reported on an August trip to visit Belize, Guatemala, and Paraguay in Central and South America,

01:39a trip that would typically include stopovers in the U.S.

01:42Often, it's an opportunity to meet with senior U.S. officials, both in the executive and the legislative branch.

01:51It's also an opportunity for them to sort of meet with key allies within the U.S.

01:58And thirdly, it's a big media event.

02:02So a Taiwan president going through the United States on transit is able to get a lot of media publicity,

02:09is able to showcase what they are doing.

02:11While the presidential office says Lai's staying in Taiwan to handle ongoing disaster recovery efforts and tariff talks with the U.S.,

02:18there's speculation the U.S. might have come under pressure from China to deny the stopovers.

02:23In a post on Facebook, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Washington's reported move to block the stopover sends a dangerous signal

02:31and has some analysts worried about a change in U.S. policy towards Taiwan.

02:36And there are signs other high-level exchanges have been affected as well.

02:39The Washington Post says Taiwan's defense minister Wellington Koo had planned a trip to the U.S. to meet top military officials in June.

02:47But that visit was abruptly canceled after objections from China and has yet to be rescheduled.

02:52When asked, Taiwan's defense ministry refused to comment.

02:56With both sides keeping quiet about what's happening behind the scenes, uncertainty may linger for some time.

03:02Justin Wu and Cadence Caranta for Taiwan Plus.

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