The sale of F-16V jets by the US to Taiwan has not been put on hold, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, denying a US media report that the administration of US President Donald Trump has temporarily set aside the sale to facilitate a trade agreement with China.
Taipei has maintained close communications with Washington since a letter of request to purchase the jets was submitted to the US, ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
The US is conducting a review and “the sale has not been shelved,” Lee said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuen, Taipei Times
The ministry’s comments came in response to a Time magazine report on Friday that said — citing three anonymous US officials — that the administration had shelved the sale until a trade deal with China is sealed.
The White House’s initial decision, reported late last month, to offer tacit approval for Taiwan to buy 60 Lockheed Martin F-16Vs was widely seen as a US show of strength against China, Time said.
However, the decision to delay approval of the sale has contributed to concern among some in the administration that Trump might go soft on China in his desire to secure a trade deal, it said.
It cited the officials as saying that the draft trade agreement being negotiated would boost Trump’s political fortunes and ease jittery stock markets, but it is unlikely to address many of the issues at the core of the US-China trade dispute.
The US Congress must also approve any arms sales to Taiwan, and the administration has yet to submit such a request to lawmakers, the magazine said.
The US Department of State, which opposed the proposed arms sale, has also called for an interagency meeting to determine whether the US can sell M1 Abrams tanks to Taiwan, Time quoted an administration official as saying.
However, Lee said that the relationship between Taiwan and the US has been close and cordial.
“Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US has sold arms to Taiwan twice, demonstrating its firm support for Taiwan’s security,” Lee said.
High-ranking US officials have publicly reiterated their support for the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), he added.
Signed into law on April 10, 1979, following Washington’s switch of recognition from Taipei to Beijing, the TRA authorizes the US to provide Taiwan with defensive arms.
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that the Time report was not based on fact and that US arms sales to Taiwan are in accordance with the TRA and the “six assurances.”
The American Institute in Taiwan said it does not comment on proposed arms sales.
“We only comment after they have been notified to Congress,” the institute said.
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS