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Taiwan has not been part of the US Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) initiative from the start. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
The economic bloc must counterbalance China and the intended members including Japan and Australia in addition to the United States. Taiwan’s participation is sensitive in China because Beijing sees the island as a renegade province.
China has long pressured countries to weaken or sever their ties with democratic Taiwan. The US has been supplying weapons to the East Asian island nation for years. In January, China’s ambassador to Washington said the two superpowers could become embroiled in military conflict if Washington encouraged Taiwan’s independence.
Taiwan itself was happy to participate in the discussion about IPEF. According to Sullivan, the United States wants to deepen its economic partnership with the country, for example in the field of chips.
US President Joe Biden is on his way to Japan. There he also meets the leaders of India and Australia. Biden is expected to say more about IPEF this week. Little has been revealed so far about the initiative he took last year.
