US and Chinese defense officials plan to set up a joint task force to deal with issues of mutual concern, but weapons sales to Taiwan will not be part of the agenda, an unnamed Pentagon official said on Wednesday.
The official’s statement came after Chinese media reported that the US has given a “positive response” to a proposal to discuss the arms sales with China.
Chinese media reports quoted Rear Admiral Guan Youfei (關友飛), who spoke to Chinese journalists on Tuesday in Washington, where Chinese Minister of Defense Chang Wanquan (常萬全) had met with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel a day earlier.
Guan reportedly said that arms sales to Taiwan would be one of three points of discussion between the US and China under a proposed joint problem-solving panel.
His remarks do not square with what the Pentagon official reported on Wednesday.
“I believe that the two sides, US and China, agreed to set up working groups to discuss issues of mutual concern, but I have not heard of any specific working group on arms sales to Taiwan being established as of now,” the defense department official said.
The planned task force will focus on crime prevention, particularly in regard to arms proliferation, piracy and online crime, the official said.
The issue of arms sales to Taiwan did not come up during the meeting between Chang and Hagel, the official added.
The official also stressed that the US commitment to upholding the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) remains unchanged.
The TRA, the US law regulating relations with Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, stipulates that Washington is obligated to provide Taiwan with arms necessary to defend itself.
The US government also issued the “six assurances” in 1982, in which it promised not to hold prior consultation with China regarding arms sales to Taiwan.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anna Kao (高安) yesterday also said the Chinese media report was “incorrect,” as the US has reaffirmed its commitments to Taiwan.
Kao said the US has clarified that the media reports about discussions between Chang and Hagel on US arms sales to Taiwan during the former’s recent visit to Washington were “not true.”
Taiwan has received thorough briefings from the US government on Chang’s visit, in line with normal practice, Kao said.
“The issue of US arms sales to Taiwan was not among the discussions [between Chang and Hagel] on issues of mutual concern,” she said.
Later yesterday, the ministry issued a statement saying that it was “nothing new” that Chang reportedly expressed the wish that the US would halt arms sales to Taiwan during his meeting with Hagel.
The US has clarified that a working group would be set up between the US and China to deal with issues related to US arms sales to Taiwan, as it said that the mechanism has nothing to do with the matter, the ministry said.
During the briefing, the US had reaffirmed its commitment to the security of Taiwan by promising to adhere to the TRA and the “six assurances” designed by former US president Ronald Reagan, it said.
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
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
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