The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday that the Pentagon had reaffirmed its commitment to the arms procurement package, clearing up any confusion created by remarks that the US is open to adjustments to the package.
"Deputy Minister Michael Tsai (
"The US Department of Defense, which takes responsibility for arms sales to foreign countries, has firmly assured its counterpart, Taiwan's MND, that its view on the arms bill has not changed," Liou said.
The Pentagon has never asked the MND to adjust the arms procurement list, Liou added. He made the statements at a press conference in response to Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) and legislators' remarks on the US' changing view of the country's procurement budget bill during Monday's legislative meeting.
Liou said that shortly after Monday's legislative meeting, Chen cleared up the matter with the MND through Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍), who said that while different people in the US have made various comments about the special arms bill, they do not represent the US' official stance.
When asked whether Chen's remarks implied that the Pentagon and the US State Department have different views on the arms sale to Taiwan, Liou said that Chen has not discussed the special arms bill with American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Douglas Paal.
"Defense ministries are in charge of arms procurement and other ministries can only play supporting roles," Liou said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chiang (
Chen agreed that the US is open to adjustments to the items and prices in the arms package and added that he welcomed such proposals and could pass them on to Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (
The MND originally created a NT$480 billion (US$14.5 billion) special budget to buy three PAC-3 anti-missile batteries, eight diesel-powered submarines and 12 P-3C Orion submarine-hunting aircraft.
In response to the pan-blue camp's opposition to the bill, the ministry tried to compromise last month by including the 12 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft in the regular defense budget.
Lu said yesterday that the MOFA respects the MND's handling of the issue and is playing only an assisting role.
Additional reporting by Chang Yun-ping
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all