The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018, which contains provisions favorable to Taiwan’s defense, while China voiced opposition to Taiwan-US military exchanges.
The signing of the NDAA was highly anticipated in the nation, as Section 1259 — Strengthening the Defense Partnership of the US and Taiwan — lists the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the “six assurances” as continuing US legal commitments.
The “six assurances,” issued in 1982 by then-US president Ronald Reagan, stipulate that the US will not set an end date on arms sales to Taiwan, will not alter the TRA, will not hold consultations with China over arms sales to Taiwan, will not mediate between Taiwan and China, will not pressure Taiwan to negotiate with China and will not formally recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.
Photo: Bloomberg
Additionally, the NDAA states that it is the “sense of the Congress” that the US should invite Taiwan to participate in military exercises, including the Exercise Red Flag advanced aerial combat training drill, and to consider “re-establishing port of call exchanges” between their navies.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said that the US is “Taiwan’s most important international friend and ally.”
Peace and stability in East Asia and the maintenance of good Taiwan-US relations are “of the highest importance to our nation and all countries of the region,” he said.
The nation is grateful for the firm support of the US Congress and government, particularly with regard to arms sales and US assistance in Taiwan’s efforts to improve its self-defense capabilities, he added.
“As a member of the international community, Taiwan will continue strengthening its relations with the US, and maintain regional peace and stability,” Huang said.
China’s saber-rattling last week over the prospect of Taiwan and the US exchanging ports of call was a topic of discussion between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) at a policy forum yesterday.
The day US Navy vessels arrive in Kaohsiung would be the day that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army “unifies” Taiwan by force, Chinese media quoted Li Kexin (李克新), a minister at the Chinese embassy in the US, as saying on Friday.
Lo said the NDAA’s signing shows that Li’s comments had no real impact on US policy and might have even generated a US backlash against Beijing.
The NDAA’s passage demonstrates that there is a bipartisan political consensus in the US to bolster Taiwan’s defenses and that agenda is supported by the White House and Congress, he said.
Chiang said the timing of Trump’s signing the NDAA into law appears to be a direct response to Li’s remarks, but added that becoming involved in the US-China rivalry might not be advantageous to Taiwan.
Asked to evaluate the risk of warfare that might arise due to port of call exchanges, Lo said China’s provocative actions are to blame for any putative rise in cross-strait tensions.
Chiang said he does not want any improvement in Taiwan-US collaboration that would cause cross-strait tensions to rise, adding that trilateral relations should be managed to avoid a conflict.
The US might leverage the port of call exchanges to pressure Beijing in future negotiations, he said.
Asked about the remarks at a regular news briefing yesterday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman An Fengshan (安峰山) said that Taiwan is an internal matter for China and that Beijing opposes any form of military contact between Taipei and Washington.
“What I want to stress and point out is that any relying on foreigners to build oneself up or plots to harm national sovereignty and territorial integrity will be opposed by the entire Chinese nation, and cannot succeed,” An said.
Chinese military activity around Taiwan’s airspace over the past week was part of regular exercises, not a cause of rising cross-strait tensions, he said.
The cross-strait stalemate is due to the DPP’s refusal to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus,” resulting in military distrust between Beijing and Taipei, he added.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Additional reporting by CNA and Reuters
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique