The US Department of Defense (DOD) on Friday said that it would continue to build a strong partnership with Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific as part of its efforts to maintain security in the area.
In its Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, the Pentagon said that at a time when China is escalating its pressure on Taiwan, the Taipei-Washington partnership has been critical to the region and the US would continue to ensure that Taiwan has sufficient capability to defend itself.
“The United States has a vital interest in upholding the rules-based international order, which includes a strong, prosperous and democratic Taiwan,” the report said.
“The United States is pursuing a strong partnership with Taiwan and will faithfully implement the Taiwan Relations Act [TRA], as part of a broader commitment to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific,” the report said. “Our partnership is vital given China’s continued pressure campaign against Taiwan.”
The TRA, which provides the legal basis for unofficial relations between Taiwan and the US, was signed into law on April 10, 1979, by then-US president Jimmy Carter, several months after the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The report said that Taiwan last year lost three diplomatic allies — the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso and El Salvador — and that some international forums continued to deny participation to the nation’s representatives.
Beijing has never given up the use of military force to reach the goal of unification with Taiwan, the report said.
“The salience of defense engagements has increased, as the PLA [China’s People’s Liberation Army] continues to prepare for contingencies in the Taiwan Strait to deter, and if necessary, compel Taiwan to abandon moves toward independence,” the report said.
“As part of a comprehensive campaign to pressure Taiwan, China has increased military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan, including circumnavigation flights by the PLA Air Force and naval exercises in the East China Sea,” it said.
According to the Pentagon, the goal for the department is to ensure that Taiwan remains secure, confident and free from China’s coercion, and to enable Taipei to engage Beijing peacefully and productively on its own terms.
“The department is committed to providing Taiwan with defense articles and services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” the report said.
“DOD is continually engaged in evaluating Taiwan’s defense needs to assist Taiwan in identifying capabilities that are mobile, survivable and effective in resisting the use of force or other forms of coercion,” it added.
In the report, the Pentagon cited US Vice President Mike Pence as saying: “America will always believe that Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people.”
Separately yesterday, at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue — the leading security forum in the Asia-Pacific region — the US said it would continue to meet its defense obligations to Taiwan.
Acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan made the remark during the three-day dialogue held in Singapore that gathers defense ministers and high-ranking military officials from around the world.
Commenting on the US’ cooperation with countries in Asia, Shanahan said that Washington would continue to meet its obligations under the TRA to make defense articles and defense services available to Taiwan.
“This support empowers the people of Taiwan to determine their own future,” he said.
The US maintains that any resolution of differences across the Taiwan Strait must occur in the absence of coercion and accord with the will of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Shanahan added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its appreciation for the US’ continued support.
As a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan would continue to improve security cooperation with the US and other like-minded countries to contribute to regional peace, it said.
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
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
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
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