News analysis

Taiwan risks becoming collateral damage amid US-China tensions

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Diplomatically isolated Taiwan was ecstatic - and for good reason - when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated President Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration on Wednesday and praised the island's response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

This marked the first time that a United States secretary of state has congratulated Taiwan's president since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, under the "one China" policy.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 22, 2020, with the headline Taiwan risks becoming collateral damage amid US-China tensions. Subscribe