Taiwan is to submit a letter of request to purchase Lockheed Martin F-35 jets, top defense officials told their US counterparts at the Monterey Talks in Hawaii last week, the highest-level defense dialogue between the two nations.
Although US officials prior to the talks privately urged Taiwanese officials on several occasions to forgo asking for the jets, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General York Chen (陳文政) told them at the meeting that Taiwan remains committed to the request, an anonymous government source said.
US officials were cited by the source as saying that US President Donald Trump’s administration cannot agree to sell Taiwan the fighters, and the nation should consider its defense needs pragmatically.
Photo: AFP
The delegation was headed by Chen, Vice Minister of National Defense Admiral Pu Tze-chun (蒲澤春) and Major General Hung Kuang-ming (洪光明), the deputy military attache.
The US officials at the meeting included US National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Mathew Pottinger and US Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense David Helvey.
No senior US Department of State officials attended.
The US officials said all arms sales to Taiwan approved by the Trump administration have been weaponry or equipment requested from former-US president Barrack Obama’s administration, the source said.
Taiwanese officials were told that the request for F-35 jets would require a new letter that must be evaluated by the departments of state and defense, the source said.
While it is relatively easy for Taiwan to buy stockpiled missiles and other munitions, it is considerably more difficult to buy new platforms, they said.
Furthermore, the US government does not encourage foreign governments to submit letters of request for arms that the US has expressed a disinterest in selling, the source said.
When Chen spoke of how Chinese military aircraft have been skirting Taiwan’s airspace, Pottinger said the US “understands” Taiwan’s position, but did not elaborate.
Taiwanese officials asked the US to begin cooperation of cyber security and requested assistance for an indigenous submarine program, the source said.
Admiral Harry Harris — commander of US Pacific Command — was not at the talks, but met the delegation separately at the Pacific Command headquarters, the source said.
This story has been corrected since it was first published.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and