As President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) left the US on Monday, the Wall Street Journal published a hard-hitting article charging that Taiwan now “faces a new political crossroads.”
It said that following the tragic hazing death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) the entire nation had been thrown into turmoil and that the way the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) handles the scandal “could destabilize relations with both the US and China.”
Written by US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers, the article said that pro-China forces had jumped on the opportunity to further undermine the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and claim the military was “unworthy of robust support.”
Hammond-Chambers said Washington had “reason to worry” because the ministry was the most important pro-US institution within the government.
He said some in the KMT wanted to impose further financial restrictions on the ministry to “starve the beast” in the aftermath of the scandal.
“This would further weaken the already underfunded MND at a time when the military requires resources and support to transform itself into a modern, well-equipped and all-volunteer force,” Hammond-Chambers said.
It comes, he said, as some members of Ma’s party want him to open political and military talks with Beijing.
“The deep blue camp wants to restrict funds to the MND, claiming that China’s ongoing military build-up is nothing to worry about and that the money should be spent elsewhere,” he said. “Chinese leaders must be watching these developments with positive glee.”
“Taipei is doing more damage to its own ability to deter mainland [sic] coercion and military attack than any weapon the People’s Liberation Army could conceive,” Hammond-Chambers said.
“This damage represents a serious threat to Taiwan’s national security and by extension to the national security of the US and Japan,” he said.
Hammond-Chambers said that US President Barack Obama’s decision “rhetorically and substantially” to omit Taiwan from his pivot to Asia had telegraphed to China that Taiwan was no longer central to US policy.
“By doing so, the US is inviting Chinese adventurism,” he said.
Hammond-Chambers concluded that the US can recalibrate its Taiwan policy by restarting arms sales to Taiwan that have been stalled for two years.
“The first step should be new F-16C/D fighters, followed by assistance with the procurement of submarines,” he said.
As Ma ended his one-night stopover in the US and left New York to start a 12-day diplomatic tour of the Americas, he met with US politicians including US Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking member of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Engel said he had “a very productive conversation” with Ma about “how to reinforce the strong bond between our two countries.”
He said that more could be done to deepen economic, security and political ties.
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez left on Monday for a nine-day visit to Asia that includes a stop in Taiwan.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from