New AIT director pledges continued support for Taiwan's self-defense

Taipei, July 10 (CNA) The United States will continue to help Taiwan strengthen its ability to defend itself, Raymond Greene, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT) Taipei office, pledged in a meeting with Taiwan's president on Wednesday.

Greene, who assumed the role of de facto American ambassador to Taiwan on Monday, told President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) in Taipei that the U.S. would "continue to strongly support Taiwan" as it strives to boost its self-defense capabilities.

This support, he said, was in line with Washington's longstanding policy guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Communiqués and the Six Assurances.

Greene, who delivered his remarks in Chinese, stressed the need to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, describing it as a common and long-term interest of both Washington and Taipei and as extremely important for global security and prosperity.

He also said he was "confident that with the support of the global democratic community, we can safeguard Taiwan's democracy."

Calling Taiwan "a key partner" in promoting trade and the global supply chain resilience, Greene said he was looking forward to working with the Lai administration to advance bilateral economic, cultural and technological cooperation.

In his remarks, Lai thanked the U.S. for showing its commitment to supporting Taiwan's efforts to strengthen its security, mentioning in particular the 15 announcements of arms sales to Taiwan under the government of President Joe Biden.

Lai reiterated his pledge to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait despite increasing challenges posed by China, and expressed the hope of working closely with the U.S. and other like-minded countries in support of the prosperity and development of the Indo-Pacific region.

As a career diplomat, Greene has previously been posted to Taiwan twice, including serving as deputy AIT director from 2018 to 2021.

Before coming to Taiwan to take charge of the AIT, which represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties, Greene was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Japan.