Seeking to join various US-led military drills, including the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), is an area in which Taiwan has wished to further its military cooperation with the US this year, Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said in a written report to the legislature.
In addition to 35 military cooperation projects scheduled to take place this year, up from 18 projects last year, “we will continue to strive for participation in all major military drills led by the US, including RIMPAC,” King said.
He did not elaborate on what the cooperation projects are.
A meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow, where King is to brief lawmakers in the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on the prospects for US-Taiwan relations this year and to take their questions.
In the report, King identified five broad areas of further cooperation between Taiwan and the US — strengthening bilateral relations; highlighting the importance of bilateral economic and trade ties; consolidating the military and security partnership; joining hands in dealing with global affairs and crises; and collaborating in territorial disputes in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
On the security front, King said that US President Barack Obama’s administration has attached high importance to Taiwan’s national security, of which the record-high arms sale of US$12 billion during his presidency is testimony, while Taiwan received more support from the US Congress last year than ever before.
Last year marked the first time that US lawmakers voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the RIMPAC naval exercise, when eight US congressmen signed a bipartisan letter in October requesting that US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel invite Taiwan to take part in this year’s drill, King said.
In November last year, US Senator Dan Coats submitted an amendment stating that Taiwan should be invited to participate at this year’s RIMPAC to help its proficiency in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, he added.
Hosted by the US Navy, RIMPAC, the world’s largest international maritime exercise, is held biennially during June and July in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is designed to foster and sustain the cooperative relationships critical to ensuring safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans, according to the US Navy Web site.
China’s People’s Liberation Army in November last year agreed to participate in RIMPAC for the first time this year, in response to an invitation extended by former US secretary of defense Leon Panetta during a visit to Beijing in 2012.
King also revealed for the first time in the report that Taiwan had stayed in touch with the US since the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, started passing through the Taiwan Strait on Nov. 28, amid tensions over China’s unilateral designation of an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea.
Taiwan and the US monitored the Liaoning’s course closely, King said.
King’s statement somewhat contradicted a report on Nov. 29 by the Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, saying that Taiwan turned down requests by the US and Japan to conduct surveillance of the carrier in relay.
According to a report by the Taipei Times on Nov. 7, US Admiral Samuel Locklear III, the Commander of US Pacific Command, did not respond affirmatively when asked at a briefing at the Washington Foreign Press Center about the possibility of the US inviting Taipei to join this year’s RIMPAC.
King added in the report that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US has scheduled conferences and other events in Washington this year to mark the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act to highlight the importance of the law.
Although tensions across the Taiwan Strait have gradually eased, threats of force by China against Taiwan must never be ignored, King said.
If the US can continue to provide Taiwan with weapons, in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, it can not only help Taiwan beef up its self-defense capability and boost confidence in its negotiations with China, but also lay down foundations for stability in cross-strait relations and peace in East Asia, King said.
Taiwan welcomes more US arms sales, including “advanced fighter jets,” and looks forward to consolidating its military and security partnership with the US in the areas of coordination of military strategies, anti-terrorism and cybersecurity, he said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS