TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US-China talks may not be as helpful as previously thought to decrease regional tensions, Joseph Bosco, former China director for the US Secretary of Defense and member of the Global Taiwan Institute advisory board, suggested in an opinion article published in The Hill.

The discussions held last month between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Vice Chairman of China’s Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia (張又俠) did not seem productive, Bosco said, pointing out that China ramped up naval and air incursions around Taiwan. It also deployed a Chinese aircraft carrier to waters northeast of Taiwan, and intruded into Japan’s maritime border. 

Despite this, the US has not sent a carrier battle group through the Taiwan Strait since 2007, Bosco said. 

The former official said there have been many US-China talks at various levels. However, “not long after each meeting, China has taken some action — military, economic or diplomatic — that has precipitated a US response and begun a new cycle of deteriorating relations that require renewed meetings or phone calls to lower tensions,” he said.

Bosco noted that Beijing opposes Taiwan’s de facto independence. Taiwan’s interactions with the US and other nations are a testament to its independence and “is a bone in Beijing’s throat,” he said. 

Upon his return to the US, Sullivan said he reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in all of his meetings with Chinese officials.