The president of the US-Taiwan Business Council on Sunday urged the administration of US President George W. Bush to approve the sale of F-16 C/D jet fighters to Taiwan as soon as possible.
Rupert Hammond-Chambers said at a news conference marking the opening of the Sixth US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference that given the profound impact this matter is having on US-Taiwan ties and even on US-Taiwan-China relations, the US government should approve the deal at the earliest possible date.
Hammond-Chambers urged the Bush administration not to link the fighter sale with the Taiwanese government's push to hold a referendum on applying to join the UN using the name "Taiwan," saying that politics should not affect military cooperation between the two countries.
He warned that if the planned fighter sale were postponed because of political issues, this would set an unwelcome precedent, adding that the US would be seen as becoming increasingly vulnerable to Beijing's influence.
concern
Hammond-Chambers also gave voice to the council's concern about the fact that US-Taiwan relations had sunk to a new low recently, saying that the tense relationship between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the Bush administration would certainly be discussed at the annual meeting as nobody wanted to see it have an adverse impact on US-Taiwan military cooperation.
Also speaking at the news conference, Deputy Defense Minister Ko Cheng-heng (
Ko expressed the hope that the US defense industry would allow increased technology transfers, as well as the production and assembly of weapons systems and parts and components that the US sells to Taiwan.
Ko said this would help the Ministry of National Defense persuade legislators to pass a long-stalled bill on arms purchases from the US.
He also said he did not expect current troubles in the US-Taiwan relationship to have an adverse impact on the US administration's position on military sales to Taiwan.
The annual conference featured closed-door meetings yesterday and today at the Westin Annapolis Hotel with a Taiwanese delegation led by Ko and a US delegation, which includes members of the US-Taiwan Business Council and representatives of the US defense industry.
speakers
Ko, along with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia David Sedney and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Thomas Christensen, were also expected to deliver speeches during the conference.
The conference, the sixth of its kind, was organized by the US-Taiwan Business Council, a private US association dedicated to promoting trade, economic and financial relations between Taiwan and the US in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
Hammond-Chambers said the conference would focus on the prospects for the modernization of Taiwan's military, the challenges for Taiwan's national defense and security, as well as military cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and the US.
Hammond-Chambers said that the three officials invited to address the conference were all expected to share first-hand information with the participants, which include Taiwanese lawmakers, think tank members and defense industry representatives.
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