The United States wants to deepen its relationship with Taiwan and will work to counter Beijing’s “malign” influence, a U.S. diplomat said Friday. In her first public news conference, Sandra Oudkirk, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy, reiterated that the United States remains deeply committed to Taiwan and is actively working on new areas of cooperation such as in cybersecurity and supply chains. “The value of our partnership and our support for Taiwan is rock solid,” Oudkirk said. “We are committed to deepening our ties with Taiwan.” The U.S. support for Taiwan comes as tensions between Beijing and the island are now at the highest in decades, with the Chinese regime stepping up its military harassment by flying fighter jets toward Taiwan. The communist regime claims the self-ruled island as its own and has never renounced the use of force to seize Taiwan. …