Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (
Chen revealed his plans while speaking at a session of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee. The session was held to discuss the nation's diplomatic situation in light of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inauguration for a second four-year term.
During the session, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sun Kuo-hua (
In response, Chen said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has consistently given priority to forging closer ties with the EU. With the number of EU member states expanding from 15 to 25 last month, Chen said Taiwan must make an even greater effort to promote relations with the bloc.
Barring unexpected developments, Chen said he would leave on his European trip next month with a view to integrating the resources of the Taiwan representative offices in European countries.
Asked whether the ministry has been pressured by the US over its arms procurement budget, Chen said that "although our diplomatic staff may talk about arms procurement plans with American officials in private, the weaponry procurement issue is principally handled by the Ministry of National Defense. The foreign ministry has not so far felt any US pressure over the arms procurement plan."
Opposition lawmakers brought up the issue of arms purchases because the Cabinet last week passed a ministry-proposed NT$610.8 billion (US$18.5 billion) plan to buy weapons from the US.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost