The US will continue its commitment to Taiwan and will help Taiwan maintain adequate defense capability, US Secretary of State John Kerry said recently in response to questions from the Senate.
Kerry added that Washington would continue to support Taiwan’s bid for meaningful participation in international bodies, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The US Department of State will work with the international community to help with Taiwan’s participation in the ICAO, Kerry said in his response to questions submitted by Robert Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Photo: AFP
The US will also encourage other UN agencies and global organizations to expand opportunities for Taiwan to participate in their technical and specialist meetings, Kerry said.
He also reaffirmed that the US would help Taiwan maintain adequate self-defense.
He firmly reiterated the US’ support for Taiwan, in response to questions on the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the “six assurances” submitted by Republican Senator Bob Corker and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, both members of the foreign relations committee.
Supplying Taiwan with weapons to maintain adequate defense capability is in line with the TRA and the US’ “one China” policy, Kerry said. These long-existing policies have contributed to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, he added.
Commenting on the exchange, Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) expressed gratitude for the senators’ concern for Taiwan’s international participation and said he hoped that the US Congress would continue its close cooperation with Taiwan.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US also welcomed Kerry’s support for Taiwan’s bid to participate in the ICAO and his commitment to Taiwan’s security. The office said it looks forward to cooperating with Kerry’s team to further expand Taiwan’s international participation and advance Taipei-Washington ties.
The TRA, enacted in 1979 after the US severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China, obliges the US to help Taiwan defend itself.
In 1982, then-US president Ronald Reagan offered Taiwan six assurances, which included a promise that the US would not set a date for termination of arms sales to Taiwan.
Kerry, a former head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, succeeded Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state on Feb. 1.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS