The component is searchable and taggable. I want a way to prevent search field from clearing existing search or value when I click on the select field to initiate a search or open the dropdown wherein the search string is preserved, the text cursor is at the end of the string and the user can continue on typing.

The reason for this: On devices with that only has on-screen keyboard, it's more convenient if they could continue instead of re-typing their search term. The clear button is there to allow them to easily clear the select search field.