The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the US military budget for next year, with an amendment that stipulates that if the US Department of Defense invites Beijing to participate in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), a similar invitation must also be extended to Taiwan.
The amendment was proposed by Mark Walker.
The amendment said that the US secretary of defense “shall invite the military forces of Taiwan to participate in any maritime exercise known as the Rim of the Pacific Exercise” if the secretary has invited the military forces of the People’s Republic of China to participate.
The amendment specified that “this section takes effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.”
The US National Defense Authorization Act, which passed 269 to 151, is to go to US President Barack Obama only after the US Senate passes the same or a similar bill.
China’s navy took part in RIMPAC — the largest international maritime warfare exercise in the world — in the summer of last year.
After being informed of the news, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said in Taipei that the Republic of China (ROC) military welcomed the development.
The ministry intends to play a more active role in regional security and shoulder more responsibility for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and is keen to be an observer at international organizations focused on security and cooperation while taking part in joint exercises, Lo said.
“We have expressed our willingness to take part in RIMPAC,” Deputy Minister of National Defense Admiral Chen Yung-kang (陳永康) said on April 20 in Taipei, local media reported last month.
Talks are under way between the Republic of China (ROC) Navy and the US Navy on the use of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), Chen told a committee meeting in the legislature.
After establishing a CUES protocol based on international radio signal communication procedures, the ROC Navy “could have the opportunity to take the next step of participating in joint multinational naval exercises,” Chen said.
Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and China reached agreement on the CUES with the US before being allowed to participate in joint exercises and expand cooperation between their armed forces and that of the US, Chen added.
Obama has threatened to veto the legislation, which US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter last week described as a road to nowhere, the New York Times reported on Friday.
Senator John McCain, chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said he hoped the two chambers would work together to produce a bill the president will sign, according to the Times.
NO CONSENSUS YET: Local governments and the CECC have agreed to change the ‘3+4’ self-isolation policy, but are still mulling what to replace it with The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) and local governments have agreed to ease restrictions on close contacts of COVID-19 cases, although the details are still being discussed, the center said yesterday. The discussions follow Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Saturday approving a proposal to shorten the “3+4” policy — three days of home isolation followed by four days of self-disease prevention — for close contacts who have received booster doses. “We did not reach a consensus on how to revise the current restrictions, but we all agreed that the administrative burden must be reduced and the intensity of restrictions must be eased,
OPPOSING CHINESE ‘HOSTILITY’: The bill orders the state secretary to create a plan to regain observer status for Taiwan, saying Taipei is a model contributor to world health US President Joe Biden on Friday signed a bill into law to help Taiwan regain observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA), demonstrating Washington’s support for Taiwan’s international participation. Friday was the deadline for Biden to sign the bill (S.812), which directs “the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization (WHO), and for other purposes.” The 75th WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is scheduled to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, from Sunday next week to May 28. The bill, introduced by US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate
REACHING OUT: President Tsai expressed condolences to the deceased man’s family and wished a speedy recovery to those who were wounded in the shooting The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) on Monday called on the US to label organizations associated with the suspect in the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting as domestic terrorists, following accusations that he was a member of a group backing unification with ties to the Chinese government. David Wenwei Chou (周文偉), 68, was arrested on Sunday and is being held in lieu of US$1 million bail at the Orange County Intake Release Center over a mass shooting at the California church that left one dead and five wounded. Local police suspect the shooting was politically motivated after they found notes in
‘DAMOCLES SWORD’: An Italian missionary said the arrest of cardinal Zen is a blow for the church in Hong Kong, China and the world, signaling great danger ahead China yesterday defended the arrest of a 90-year-old Catholic cardinal under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, a move that triggered international outrage and deepened concerns over Beijing’s crackdown on freedoms in the territory. Retired cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, was among a group of veteran democracy advocates arrested on Wednesday for “colluding with foreign forces.” Pop singer Denise Ho (何韻詩), veteran barrister Margaret Ng (吳靄儀) and cultural studies academic Hui Po-keung (許寶強) were also arrested, the latter as he attempted to fly to Europe to take up an academic post. Cyd Ho (何秀蘭), a democracy