Honolulu, April 21 -- China's intensifying pressure on Taiwan and its broader aims in the Indo-Pacific require a more explicit response from the United States, former US Indo-Pacific Command Chief Admiral Harry Harris said on Thursday, Taiwan News reported.

Speaking at the 50th anniversary event of the Pacific Forum, Harris called on Washington to abandon its long-standing policy of "strategic ambiguity" and instead make clear whether it would come to Taiwan's defence in a cross-strait conflict.

"China has made it abundantly clear it intends to isolate and seize Taiwan," Harris said, referencing Beijing's continued military build up and hostile posture toward the self-governing island. "We should be equally clear, and we should never al...