US Should Diplomatically Recognize 'Free' Taiwan, Says Pompeo

File Photo: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks on Arctic policy at the Lappi Areena in Rovaniemi, Finland May 6, 2019. (Reuters)
File Photo: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks on Arctic policy at the Lappi Areena in Rovaniemi, Finland May 6, 2019. (Reuters)
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US Should Diplomatically Recognize 'Free' Taiwan, Says Pompeo

File Photo: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks on Arctic policy at the Lappi Areena in Rovaniemi, Finland May 6, 2019. (Reuters)
File Photo: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks on Arctic policy at the Lappi Areena in Rovaniemi, Finland May 6, 2019. (Reuters)

The United States should diplomatically recognize Taiwan as "a free and sovereign country," former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech while visiting the island.

Pompeo, one of former president Donald Trump's most hawkish advisors on China, arrived on Wednesday for a visit at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over the self-ruled island as well as the crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, AFP said.

While Washington should continue to engage with Beijing as a sovereign government, offering Taipei diplomatic recognition "can no longer be ignored, avoided or treated as secondary," Pompeo said in a speech hosted by a local think-tank.

"It is my view that the United States government should immediately take necessary and long-overdue steps to do the right and obvious thing, that is to offer the Republic of China (Taiwan) America’s diplomatic recognition as a free and sovereign country."

The Republic of China is Taiwan's official name.

Washington has remained Taipei's most important ally and leading arms supplier despite switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.

But Pompeo said the move "isn't about Taiwan's future independence, it's about recognition of an unmistakable, already existing reality".

China claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be retaken one day, by force if necessary.

Beijing considers a formal declaration of independence as something that would cross its self-declared "red line" and has warned that such a step could trigger war.

Taiwan's current leader Tsai Ing-wen, who has won elections twice, hails from a party that historically favors independence.

But her stance is deliberately nuanced.

She says there is no need to declare independence because Taiwan is already a sovereign nation called the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Pompeo's speech advocated the same position.

"As many of your past and present leaders have made clear, there's no need for Taiwan to declare independence because it’s already an independent nation. Its name is the Republic of China (Taiwan)," he said.

"The people and government of the United States should simply accept this fundamentally decent, morally right thing. This is easy. The Taiwanese people deserve the world’s respect for continuing down this free, democratic and sovereign path."

President Tsai met Pompeo on Thursday, conferring on him an honorary medal and praising him for facilitating "multiple breakthroughs" in Taiwan-US relations.

On his way out of office, Pompeo announced that Washington was ending restrictions on official contacts with Taipei in a move that angered Beijing.

President Joe Biden has continued most of the Trump era's policies towards Taiwan.

China has ramped up pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of Tsai

China's saber-rattling has increased considerably over the past year, with warplanes breaching Taiwan's air defense zone on a near-daily basis.



Blast at Los Angeles Sheriff's Facility Leaves 3 Dead

A Los Angeles County sheriff's officer stands watch as a police vehicle passes by, while officers block the road to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility,in East Los Angeles, California, US July 18, 2025. REUTERS/ Mike Blake
A Los Angeles County sheriff's officer stands watch as a police vehicle passes by, while officers block the road to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility,in East Los Angeles, California, US July 18, 2025. REUTERS/ Mike Blake
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Blast at Los Angeles Sheriff's Facility Leaves 3 Dead

A Los Angeles County sheriff's officer stands watch as a police vehicle passes by, while officers block the road to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility,in East Los Angeles, California, US July 18, 2025. REUTERS/ Mike Blake
A Los Angeles County sheriff's officer stands watch as a police vehicle passes by, while officers block the road to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility,in East Los Angeles, California, US July 18, 2025. REUTERS/ Mike Blake

An explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training facility has killed three deputies, local media reported on Friday, though officials have yet to confirm any deaths.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said an explosion occurred at the Biscailuz Center Academy Training in East Los Angeles. The spokesperson said the cause was under investigation and that they were not yet ready to confirm any deaths or injuries, Reuters reported.

The Los Angeles Times newspaper, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, reported that three deputies were killed in the blast, which took place when a bomb squad moved some explosives.

Hilda Solis, who serves on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said in a written statement that "my heart goes out to the families, friends, and colleagues of the three individuals who lost their lives in what appears to have been a devastating explosion."

US Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media that she had spoken with Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna along with US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli "about what appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles."

Bondi said that federal agents were at the scene and working to learn more.