The Washington Times reported on Thursday night that Congress would be briefed yesterday by the administration of President Barack Obama on a new US$4.2 billion arms package for Taiwan.
While the newspaper did not know for certain, it strongly indicated that the package would not include the 66 advanced F-16C/D jets that Taipei has requested.
“All we’ve been told is the president has made a decision, and I assume it will be for the F-16A/B upgrade package,” a senior Congressional aide close to the issue was quoted as saying.
Washington Times security correspondent Bill Gertz said that officials had told him Obama had decided against selling the F-16C/Ds despite strong pressure from the US Congress.
The White House refused to comment.
Gertz said that China was expected to “react harshly” against the upgrade package.
In the past, China has stopped all military-to-military contact with the US as a means of expressing its anger at arms sales to Taiwan.
Officials told the Washington Times that the Obama administration has made its policy of seeking closer military ties with China a high priority and that was one reason they had rejected Taipei’s pleas for the F-16C/Ds.
The newspaper said that it was a setback for administration officials who were concerned about Taiwan’s declining defenses.
There was no comment from the US Department of State.
“In addition to the new arms package, the Pentagon is expected to release a long--delayed study on the air power balance across the 100-mile Taiwan Strait,” the newspaper said.
“The study is said by officials to show that Taiwan’s air force urgently needs modernization,” it said.
“China has been building up its air forces along the coast opposite Taiwan with new and more advanced warplanes, including Russian-made Su-27s, Su-30s and Chinese J-10 fighters,” it added.
The Washington Times said that according to two US officials close to the arms debate, White House National Security Council staff, including China military expert Evan Medeiros, were key to the president’s decision not to sell the new jets.
They argued that the F-16C/Ds were far more capable than the earlier F-16s and could be considered offensive weapons. The US has pledged to provide only defensive arms to Taiwan.
In a letter sent earlier this week to US Senator Richard Lugar, US Department of State official David Adams said: “Although we cannot comment publicly on foreign military sales cases until those cases are notified to Congress, we can assure that this administration pays close attention to ensure that Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities remain adequate to its needs, as the Taiwan Relations Act requires.”
In Taipei, Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) said yesterday the ministry was seeking corroboration on the report from the American Institute in Taiwan and Taiwan’s representative office in the US, but that “up to this point, that [the report] seems to be a rumor.”
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS