US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday that the US hasn't always received a "satisfactory" response from Taiwan with regard to US efforts to help modernize the Taiwanese military.
Rice made the remarks while attending a hearing of the House International Relations Committee on the fiscal year 2007 international affairs budget request. She said the US has also been clear that it has obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to help Taiwan defend itself.
Rice said the US has "proposed that there are things that could be done for the modernization of Taiwanese forces with the help of the United States."
However, the US hasn't always received "a particularly satisfactory response on the Taiwanese side to issues about defense modernization, but we have been prepared to discharge our duties in that regard."
Ohio Representative Steve Chabot, co-chairman of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, a pro-Taiwan group in the House of Representatives, asked Rice during the hearing about cross-strait relations and the US role in the Taiwan Strait.
Rice said that although the US has insisted on its "one China" policy, it has also tried to give Taiwan space within the international community.
Chabot admitted that he is "not a big fan" of the so-called "one China" policy, saying he believes it is "wrongheaded" and "dangerous."
During the hearing, Chabot cited a Taipei Times cartoon to make his point.
The cartoon, published by this paper on Feb 4, shows a man labeled "Taiwan," who is trying to crawl out of the water to get away from a shark that is labeled "China." From the shore, a bat-wielding Uncle Sam is saying to Taiwan "Get back in there! We don't want to alter the status quo."
"I use this cartoon as an illustration of the frustration I'm sure Taiwan's leaders must be feeling, and frankly, the frustration I am feeling," Chabot was quoted as saying in the hearing's transcript.
Chabot said that "every time Taiwan's democratically elected President Chen Shui bian (
He said the main threat to the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait is actually China, which is pursuing a rapid military buildup, has 784 missiles pointed at Taiwan and last year passed the "Anti-Secession" Law giving it legal cover to attack Taiwan.
In response, Rice said that the US has pursued "a policy that does recognize that there is one China," but that it has tried also to make space for Taiwan in international organizations and international groupings.
For instance, she said the US advocates having Taiwan in the World Health Organization and has insisted that Taiwan continue to be involved in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
"I think we have tried to give Taiwan space to be active in international politics," Rice noted.
Rice said that she understands that Chabot disagrees with the policy, but that the US has "carried out the policy in a way consistent with its interests" and "consistent with our values in trying to support Taiwan's democracy to give it room and space within the international community, to give it a way to engage the international community, and to do that within the context of this policy."
On cross-strait relations, she said that "the best course is to have a situation in which neither side tries to change the status quo unilaterally. We also believe that the Chinese should not provoke Taiwan, and we've been very clear to them on the same count."
also see story:
KMT may back purchase of submarines: lawmaker
Letter: Balance needed in US policy
The subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in Kumamoto, Japan, turned a profit in the first quarter of this year, marking the first time the first fab of the unit has become profitable since mass production started at the end of 2024. According to the contract chipmaker’s financial statement released on Friday, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc (JASM), a joint venture running the fab in Kumamoto, posted NT$951 million (US$30.19 million) in profit in the January-to-March period, compared with a loss of NT$1.39 billion in the previous quarter, and a loss of NT$3.25 billion in the first quarter of
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
RESOLUTE BACKING: Two Republican senators are planning to introduce legislation that would impose immediate sanctions on China if it attempts to invade Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force. Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week. In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good
US President Donald Trump yesterday said he would speak to President William Lai (賴清德) as his administration considers whether to move ahead with a US$14 billion weapons sale to Taiwan — a potential arms deal that has drawn criticism from China. “Well, I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Trump told reporters yesterday when asked if he had any plans to call his counterpart, although he did not offer a time frame for when such a conversation could take place. Trump previously said he would speak to the person “that’s running Taiwan,” without specifying who he meant. “We have that situation very
RSS