US supports Taiwan on defence, energy, senior diplomat says

TAIPEI, March 26 (Reuters) - The top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan sought to send a reassuring message that his government supported the island on both boosting its defences and ensuring energy supplies during the Iran war, in a speech on Thursday to senior Taiwanese leaders.

The United States is Chinese-claimed Taiwan's most important arms supplier and international backer, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

Speaking at a dinner of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, with President Lai Ching-te and other top officials in the audience, Raymond Greene said U.S. commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act - which, among other things, mandates arms sales - remained "rock solid".

"Our goal continues to be to create an environment in which the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can resolve their differences peacefully and free from coercion. To achieve this, we see dialogue and deterrence as two sides of the same stable coin," he said.

"In this context, we continue to support Taiwan's efforts to acquire critical defence capabilities," Greene added, pointing to Taiwan's focus on acquiring cost-effective systems such as drones and integrated air and missile defences.

TRUMP TO MEET XI IN MAY

Greene, who heads the American Institute in Taiwan, which handles relations in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, was speaking just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in mid-May, a closely watched trip postponed due to the Iran war.

Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, has demanded an end to U.S. arms sales to democratically governed Taiwan.

Greene also pledged that to "further mitigate the effects of ongoing global commodity supply disruptions" the United States looked forward to supplying Taiwan with more crude oil and natural gas, though he did not directly mention the war in the Middle East.

Taiwan's state-owned refiner, CPC, and U.S. LNG exporter Cheniere Energy LNG.N had recently agreed that the U.S. firm would double CPC's imports of gas to the island, he added.

"As I said last year, America stands ready to support Taiwan's energy needs across all sources and technologies."