TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The top U.S. envoy to Taiwan on Wednesday said American support for the island is “rock-solid, principled, and bipartisan,” and said Washington will continue to follow through on its commitments to ensure the island can defend itself against threats from China.

Raymond F. Greene’s remarks on Wednesday come amidst uncertainty regarding China’s intentions towards the island it claims as its own, vowing to reclaim it by force if necessary. This uncertainty is further compounded by ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which pose the risk of drawing the U.S. into deeper involvement.

Greene made it unequivocally clear that Taiwan remains a top priority, particularly emphasizing the security of shipping lanes in the strategically crucial Taiwan Strait that separates the island from China.

The U.S. will “continue to maintain the capability to counter any use of force or other forms of coercion directed at Taiwan,” Greene affirmed. He referred to the Taiwan Relations Act, which guarantees such support following the severing of formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979, when Washington established diplomatic relations with the Communist government in Beijing.

Greene disclosed that the Executive Branch has notified Congress of approximately $38.4 billion in Foreign Military Sales to Taiwan since 2010, including over $6.4 billion under the Biden administration. This also includes the equivalent of $345 million in transfers of arms from existing U.S. stockpiles.

Modernized and new F-16 fighter jets, Abrams tanks, and other military equipment have already arrived or are in the process of being delivered. Concurrently, Taiwan is expanding its production of domestically manufactured weaponry, including submarines and anti-landing and ground-to-air missiles.

Greene, a senior American diplomat, arrived two months ago to take on the role of director of the American Institute in Taiwan, effectively making him America's top representative on the island of 23.5 million people that has long maintained strong commercial, cultural, and political ties with the U.S.

Taiwan was a key subject during U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's visit to China last week , with the objective of maintaining open lines of communication in a relationship that has grown increasingly strained in recent years.

During his first trip to China as President Joe Biden's primary national security advisor, Sullivan met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and a senior general from the Central Military Commission.

Danny Russel, a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York and a former member of the National Security Council during the Obama administration, noted that the meeting between Sullivan and Xi was particularly significant because Chinese leadership viewed Sullivan as “a direct extension” of the U.S. president, and Sullivan's messaging was perceived as “coming straight from (President Joe) Biden.”

Sullivan also held a meeting with Gen. Zhang Youxia, one of China's vice chairs of the Central Military Commission, last week — an unusual encounter for a visiting U.S. official.

“China demands that the United States cease military cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan, halt the supply of arms to Taiwan, and stop spreading false narratives about Taiwan,” a statement from the Chinese Defense Ministry said, without specifying the nature of these alleged false narratives.

A White House statement indicated that the two officials “recognized the progress achieved in sustained, regular military-to-military communications over the past 10 months." Regarding Taiwan, the U.S. statement only mentioned that Sullivan had emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

China suspended communication between the two militaries after a high-ranking U.S. lawmaker and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. Dialogue resumed gradually more than a year later, following a meeting between Xi and Biden outside San Francisco in November.

The United States has long been a staunch supporter of Taiwan's vibrant democracy, which stands in stark contrast to China's authoritarian government. However, Greene stated that Washington would not comment on allegations of corruption and abuse of power that have surrounded former Taipei mayor and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je in recent months.