US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage yesterday refused to answer questions about whether investigations into former US State official Donald Keyser's involvement with Taiwanese intelligence officers would have an impact on diplomatic ties with Taiwan and China.
When asked whether the case would affect current ties between Taiwan and the US, Armitage told reporters that he would not discuss the case, saying it was a matter for the courts to handle.
Keyser, former deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, is accused of concealing a trip to Taiwan and suspected of passing US government documents to Taiwanese security personnel.
In response to media inquiries regarding whether Armitage had met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐三) during Chen's stay in the Baltimore area beginning last Wednesday, Armitage said that the two had not met. Armitage made the remarks after a Congressional hearing session on Friday.
Chen had made a rushed departure for the US and Grenada ahead of schedule late last Friday amid speculations that his trip had been rescheduled in conjunction with the Keyser case which broke just one day before Chen departed. The ministry has denied that the trip had anything to do with the Keyser case.
Chen's trip to the US was primarily to meet with Taiwanese diplomats and to host a routine foreign ministry conference on North American affairs in Baltimore. Chen had also visited diplomatic ally Grenada to see damage wrought by Hurricane Ivan.
Armitage also responded to questions regarding the demonstrations against arms purchases conducted in Taipei yesterday.
"The people of Taiwan, as a democracy, have a right to express themselves and express their views, so their government will understand clearly, and then the government will be able to make informed decisions as is best for their citizens," Armitage said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard