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.



Pro-Palestinian Activists Charged with Damaging Planes at UK Air Base are Held in Custody

An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
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Pro-Palestinian Activists Charged with Damaging Planes at UK Air Base are Held in Custody

An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo

Four pro-Palestinian protesters were held in custody Thursday after their first appearance in a London court on charges they damaged two Royal Air Force planes with red paint and crowbars.

The charges come after the group Palestine Action said two of its members entered RAF Brize Norton on June 20 and used electric scooters to approach two Voyager jets used for air-to-air refueling. The protesters used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray paint into the planes’ jet engines and caused further damage with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage of the incident, The AP news reported.

The four, all between the ages of 22 and 35, are charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the UK, counterterror police said in a statement. The Crown Prosecution Service will argue that the offenses have a “terrorist connection,” police said.

The group did not enter pleas in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. They were scheduled to appear July 18 at the Central Criminal Court.

Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for a series of incidents targeting Israeli defense contractors in the UK and other sites linked to the war in Gaza.

Following the incident at RAF Brize Norton, the government introduced legislation to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. The measure, being debated in Parliament, would make it a criminal offense to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Palestine Action said its protests are designed to end international support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Planes from Brize Norton, 70 miles (112 kilometers) northwest of London, regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East.