Leaders of the US Congressional Taiwan Caucus have written to US President Barack Obama urging him to remember Taiwan’s “vital interests” during the two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) which starts today in California.
“Taiwan is a strong democracy, a close trading partner, and an ally of the US,” they said in the letter.
It is signed by Republican representatives Mario Diaz-Balart and John Carter, and Democratic representatives Gerald Connolly and Albio Sires.
“While we recognize that your discussions with Chinese leaders will cover a range of issues, we hope that you will be mindful of Taiwan’s needs,” the letter said.
The four Congressional members — all co-chairs of the caucus — said that should matters concerning Taiwan be raised, “we urge you to emphasize” that the US position remains clear, consistent with the assurances that the US offered Taiwan in 1982, that is, the US will support Taiwan’s security and will continue to provide it with arms as required under the Taiwan Relations Act.
They reminded Obama that it is US policy to consider any non-peaceful means to determine Taiwan’s future “a threat” to the peace and security of the Western Pacific, and of “grave concern” to the US.
China “has engaged in a large-scale military build-up over the past few years and has not abandoned the threat of force, with over 1,600 ballistic and cruise missiles now being aimed at Taiwan, a significant increase from the previous year,” they wrote.
Taiwan is now one of the main targets of Chinese cyberwarfare, the Congressional members said, and it is “of the utmost importance” that Beijing understands the US’ firm commitment to ensuring that Taiwan has the tools to defend itself.
“We also hope you will raise the issue of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, as it will greatly benefit Taiwan and the rest of the world if Taiwan can be included in the International Civil Aviation Organization and other multilateral bodies,” the letter said.
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
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
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
RSS