A comment by US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta earlier this week about arms sales to Taiwan has raised concern on Capitol Hill.
At a news conference in Indonesia on Sunday, Panetta praised China for what he described as a “mild” response to the latest offer by the administration of US President Barack Obama to upgrade Taipei’s existing F-16A/B aircraft.
“I think we’d given the Chinese a heads-up as to what was going to take place, and in the end I think they handled it in a professional and diplomatic way and we appreciate that,” he said.
At least one Democratic member of the US Congress is now considering a letter to Panetta asking just what kind of a “heads-up” China was given.
Supporters of Taiwan in the US are worried that the Obama administration may have broken existing agreements and consulted Beijing before deciding not to sell the more modern F-16C/Ds to Taiwan.
A number of senior administration officials — including US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell — have strongly denied that China was consulted.
In 1982, then-US president Ronald Reagan gave Taipei “Six Assurances” regarding US policy toward Taiwan.
One of these “assurances” was that the US would not consult China before making decisions about US arms sales to Taiwan.
An expert on the US-Taiwan relationship said that “technically” the statement by Panetta was not a violation of the Six Assurances because he only indicated that Washington had informed Beijing of its decision to sell arms, not that there had been consultation before the sale.
However, another expert warned: “Many of us worry there is some secret consultation with Beijing over arms sales to Taiwan.”
“Panetta’s remark about a ‘heads-up’ is the closest they may have come to admitting it,” the expert said.
As a direct result of the remark, the lawmaker now considering a letter to Panetta could list the Six Assurances in the communication.
If he goes ahead, other members of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus would ask to cosign the letter.
An e-mail containing a news agency report of Panetta’s remarks in Indonesia — with the “heads-up” statement clearly highlighted — has been widely circulated on Capitol Hill.
Coen Blaauw, an official with the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, told the Taipei Times: “It would be prudent right now to remind the Obama administration of the content and reach of the Six Assurances.”
“We don’t want the territory covered to become a gray area. There is concern that some talks with the Chinese may contain elements of consultation,” he said.
“Panetta’s statement has made people uneasy and this would be a good time to underscore the pertinence of the Six Assurances,” he said.
The concern over Panetta’s statement comes as the Obama administration’s plan to upgrade the F-16A/Bs has cleared its 30-day congressional review without objection.
A formal letter of acceptance still needs to be negotiated and signed.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique