Washington calls on the world to support Taiwan's participation in UN institutions

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken February 4, 2021 in Washington.

AP - Evan Vucci

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The statement by the US Secretary of State comes in a context of tension with China, particularly over the nationalist island. 

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With our correspondent in Washington, 

The date is probably not chosen at random.

Anthony Blinken speaks the day after the fiftieth anniversary of the entry of Communist China into the UN, replacing Taiwan.

In this press release, the US foreign minister explains that Taiwan is a democratic achievement and that its exclusion undermines the important work of the UN and its agencies.

This may well displease Beijing, because the communist regime claims sovereignty over the nationalist island and does not miss an opportunity to 

, including militarily.

Earlier this month, on the anniversary of Communist China, a record number of Chinese military planes entered the Taiwanese air defense zone within days.

Fear of armed conflict

The fear of a takeover of the island by force is growing.

Among all the tensions between China and the United States, the question of Taiwan is the only one which is considered to be able to trigger an armed conflict.

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Last week, China had also called on the American president to be cautious after

had explained that the United States would intervene in the event of a Chinese attack and that there was a commitment in this direction.

It looked like an evolution of the historical doctrine of strategic ambiguity, and the US administration quickly explained that nothing had changed. 

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• United States

• Taiwan

• UN

• China