Taiwan Makes Name Change To Its US Office

Taiwan says it is changing the name of its de facto diplomatic office in the US amid the strongest relations between the sides in decades.

The foreign ministry tweeted that the Coordination Council for North American Affairs was being renamed the Taiwan Council for US Affairs.

While the US severed formal diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1979 in favour of Beijing, the sides retain close unofficial relations that have grown ever-closer in recent years, including stepped-up military-to-military contacts.

The unofficial US embassy in Taipei, the American Institute in Taiwan, recently moved into a substantially larger, purpose-built complex in a suburb of the capital.

Beijing objects to all diplomatic and military contacts between Taiwan and the US. (AP)