The US government is downplaying claims that it’s drafting plans to evacuate American citizens from the renegade province of Taiwan as Washington continues ramping up tensions with China.
John Kirby, who serves as the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, avoided answering directly but told reporters during the Monday press briefing that “it’s not routine US policy to evacuate private American citizens from areas of conflict.”
“And there’s no indication at this time that current conditions in Taiwan would warrant any reconsideration of that policy,” Kirby said.
"As always, we take our responsibility for the safety of our citizens and personnel seriously — wherever that is — all around the world. And we have routine procedures in place to make sure that we’re prepared for any type of emergency."
Earlier Monday, a US-based outlet reported a senior American intelligence official said Washington’s efforts to put in place contingency plans for a hot war with China had “heated up over the past two months or so.”
It was noted that contingency plans were taken into consideration for a period of at least six months.
The official reportedly described a “heightened level of tension” with Beijing as the driving force behind the decision, citing “China aligning with Russia on Ukraine” specifically.
The outlet cited comments from Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at a major US military-aligned think tank called the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who reportedly described the plans as a warning, rather than a declaration that Americans in Taipei face imminent danger.
“The fact that the US is doing this doesn't mean that they expect there will be a war,” Cancian said. “It’s only a statement that there could be a war.”
Cancian reportedly said the recent disastrous US withdrawal from Afghanistan was another key consideration for US officials.
“The tension is that the US government wouldn’t want to pull personnel out too soon because that would signal lack of confidence,” he added. “But they wouldn’t want to wait too late because then they wouldn’t be able to get everyone out.”
The initial report indicated that a Pentagon spokesperson refused to comment on specific plans, but said Defense Department officials “do not see a conflict in the Taiwan Strait as imminent or inevitable.”