In the US State Department’s catalogue of priorities for the next five years, Taiwan rates exactly zero mentions.

The department’s Agency Strategic Plan does list peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific as a goal but its top focus after national security is the western hemisphere.

The plan sets out the direction of US foreign policy and foreign assistance between 2026 and 2030 and in doing so, sidesteps the island entirely.

It is a contrast to the White House’s National Security Strategy (NSS) released a month earlier, which said that deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, was a priority for the administration.

Observers said that the decision reflected Washington’s sense of insecurity on Taiwan and the downgrading of the island and the broader region in its priority list.

Like the NSS, the State Department’s plan put the western hemisphere at the top of its concerns.