The US yesterday confirmed that it will post military officers to its mission in Taipei for the first time since 1979, when the US switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokeswoman Dana Shell Smith confirmed the Jane's Defence Weekly report that Washington will start posting active-duty military officers to the AIT.
In a news release, Dana said the AIT has been hiring retired US military officers as contractors to coordinate defense assistance to Taiwan.
"Non-uniformed, active-duty military and Department of Defense civilian personnel will now replace these contractors. They are being detailed to AIT as part of the normal rotation of personnel," she said.
"This is a personnel matter ... Our policy towards Taiwan has not changed," she said.
China voiced strong opposition yesterday to the development, saying the move violated Sino-US agreements.
Foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (
"Whatever excuse or method the US side uses to develop military relations with Taiwan violates the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiques, will encourage Taiwan separatist activities and harm peace and stability in the Taiwan region as well as China-US relations," Liu said.
Jane's Defence Weekly reported on Sunday that the Pentagon would gradually send active-duty military personnel to replace civilian contractors at the AIT, starting with the deployment of a US army officer to head a Technical Liaison Section mid-next year.
The Pentagon had considered stationing an active-duty officer in Taipei in 2000, but put off the plan because of concerns about Beijing's protests, the weekly said, quoting an unidentified source.
Meanwhile, a US expert with close ties to the Pentagon said on Monday that the US will not be the first country with no diplomatic ties with Taiwan to have stationed an active-duty officer in Taipei.
The expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, for example, France has long posted an active-duty officer in Taiwan.
To the best of his knowledge, he said, a French military officer was promoted to the rank of major-general after concluding his stint in Taiwan.
The expert said US law must be revised before the Pentagon sends active-duty military staff to Taiwan.
Under the law, active-duty military personnel must first apply for duty suspension before going to Taiwan and their service stint in Taiwan cannot be counted into their seniority when they return to continue their service in the military. As the suspension of seniority can affect promotions, few US military officers would be interested in serving in Taiwan.
The Pentagon will discuss possible revisions with Congress with reference to French provisions, the expert said.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS