The Pentagon has denied imposing a deadline on Taiwan's decision on whether to purchase a dozen surveillance aircraft, saying the US will stick with President George W. Bush's offer to sell Taiwan a robust package of sophisticated weapons, regardless of how long that takes.
The denial comes in response to Minister of National Defense Lee Jye's (
There is "no deadline," a Pentagon official told the Taipei Times.
However, he did reflect the Bush administration's frustration that Taiwan has not moved to approve the purchase of the aircraft, along with other major weapons systems Bush agreed to sell Taiwan in April 2001.
Despite Lee's comments, a Pentagon spokesman said that "the Department of Defense remains firmly committed to fulfilling the security and arms sales provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act," which commits the US to "provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character."
The spokesman also said that Bush's 2001 arms sales commitment still stands, despite the Legislative Yuan's inaction.
"The president has stated in 2001 that these systems would be made available to Taiwan. We will continue to assist Taiwan in meeting its legitimate self-defense needs in accordance with our obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act," the spokesman said.
Privately, defense officials complain that Lee's statement may be a political ploy to push for the Legislative Yuan's approval of a special arms purchase budget, which the lawmaking body has consistently refused to do.
Despite the Pentagon's denial, at least one congressman has confirmed that the department has warned Taiwan to make a decision quickly.
"I don't know about an end of the month deadline, but yes, they've been given a short date to decide," said New Jersey Representative Robert Andrews, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Andrews told the Taipei Times that he did not expect the ultimatum to result in the actual denial of the planes to Taiwan.
"I think it may be more of an effort to provoke a decision. I'm not sure they will withdraw the offer. One doesn't necessarily beget the other," he said.
Defense department officials also take issue with Lee's statements that if Taiwan does not buy the P-3Cs, they will be sold to another country.
While Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor for the P-3Cs, does not make the planes any longer, there are literally hundreds of the surplus aircraft sitting idle in the US Department of Defense's so-called "bone yard" for unused planes outside of Yuma, Arizona.
The P-3Cs meant for Taiwan would come from that stash, according to US defense officials.
While the planes are whole, any sale would involve refitting them to meet Taiwan's specifications, which would be part of the cost.
The purchase of the P-3Cs is part of a NT$480 billion special arms budget that the DPP has long sought, but which the Legislative Yuan has regularly rejected. In addition to the aircraft, the package would include eight diesel-electric submarines and six PAC-III anti missile batteries.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from