A letter signed by 181 members of the US Congress was sent to the White House on Monday urging US President Barack Obama to sell advanced F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan.
Obama has promised to make a decision on the sale by Oct. 1 and there is growing concern that he is being influenced by China’s strong opposition.
The letter came as a hearing on Taiwan policy — before the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs — was suddenly canceled when Congress decided to adjourn for summer recess following a controversial vote to raise the federal debt limit.
That hearing, at which US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Kurt Campbell and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Derek Mitchell are due to testify, is now likely to be held in the middle of next month.
Both Campbell and Mitchell are expected to face sharp criticism over the way the Obama administration appears to have consulted Beijing about the requested arms sale.
Under former US president Ronald Reagan’s so-called “Six Assurances,” the US pledged not to consult China about arms sales decisions.
“In order to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, we believe it is critical for the US to sell the government of Taiwan all the F-16C/D [aircraft] it requires,” the congressional letter to Obama said. “We respectfully request that your administration move quickly to announce its support for such a sale and submit the required Congressional Notification for a sale as soon as possible.”
The letter said that China has more than 1,400 missiles aimed at Taiwan and continues to add to this total, deploying next--generation technology.
“Military experts both in Taiwan and in the US have raised alarms that Taiwan is losing its qualitative advantage in defensive arms that have long served as a primary military deterrent,” the letter said.
Within the next decade, the letter added, Taiwan will retire 70 percent of its jet fighter force and without new fighter aircraft and upgrades to its existing fleet of F-16s, Taiwan’s situation could become “quite precarious.”
The members of Congress said they were “deeply concerned” that delays in the decision on the sale of F-16s could result in a closure of the F-16 assembly line, making future deliveries impossible.
“In addition to enhancing Taiwan’s security, approval of the sale would support thousands of American jobs — especially well-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector,” the letter added.
While there can now be no doubt of major congressional support for the F-16 sale, that support may not have a great impact on Obama.
He is more likely to be influenced by advice from his National Security Council and the US Department of State.
A blog published on the Wall Street Journal Web site on Monday reported that “influential figures” had publicly called for the US to pull away from Taiwan to foster “increasingly key relations” with China.
It said that military exchanges between the US and China had been cut off by Beijing in the past when the US sold weapons to Taiwan.
“Analysts say the planes are vital for Taiwan as it seeks to replenish its aging fleet of fighters. But China seems to be drawing a line in the sand, with analysts saying Beijing would be more willing to accept a long-delayed upgrade to Taiwan’s older F-16A/Bs than sales of new F-16C/Ds,” the blog said. “Due to the timing of the October 1 decision, which falls between two high-level US-China diplomatic exchanges and on China’s National Day, most do not think the US will accept Taiwan’s request for the new planes.”
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
RSS