The US State Department has approved a license for Honeywell International Corp to provide Taiwan with US$1.1 billion worth of engines for Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighter.
But sources in Washington were quick to distinguish that sale, which extends a previously-issued license, from the nine-month-old freeze on sales of major weapons systems to Taiwan, which is still in force.
The license for the engines was approved as a commercial sale — which is regulated primarily by the State Department — as opposed to a foreign military sale, which involves the State Department, the Pentagon and other agencies of the US government.
Notifications to Congress of Foreign Military Sales are handled by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, a unit of the Pentagon. The freeze has halted those sales in their tracks all year.
In a letter notifying the Senate Foreign Relations Committee dated Aug. 4, but which came to light only this week, the department said it has approved the contract for Honeywell’s wholly owned subsidy, International Turbine Engine Company, to manufacture components for the TFE 1042 engines for Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC), which is developing the aircraft.
The US company was supplying the engines to AIDC under an earlier contract valued at US$997 million, and the new authorization will bring the total value of the contract to US$2.1 billion, the department’s letter of transmittal, signed by acting Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Matthew Reynolds said.
“This new agreement will bring all parties into compliance with current Department of State policies and procedures,” the notice said, a copy of which the Taipei Times obtained on Friday.
“The United States Government is prepared to license the export of these items having taken into account political, military, economic, human rights and arms control considerations,” Reynolds wrote in the notice.
The agreement will terminate on May 31, 2017.
Despite the notification, the fate of eight major packages of weapons systems to Taiwan remains in limbo, with no firm indication that the sales will be unfrozen even though they were authorized by US President George W. Bush in April 2001, and the Legislative Yuan approved funding for them last year.
However, the president of the US-Taiwan Business Council Rupert Hammond-Chambers, representing US defense contractor firms that will largely supply the weapons, told the Taipei Times on Friday that he was “optimistic” the sales, with a value of up to US$12 billion, would be unfrozen soon.
He said he felt confident that the Bush administration would send the needed notification to Congress by Sept. 26, the date Congress is scheduled to adjourn its regular session, allowing enough time for a contract to be signed by the end of the year.
The weapons packages, which have been held up since last December, include anti-tank missiles, Apache helicopters, Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile batteries, P-3C anti-submarine aircraft, diesel-powered submarines and sea-launched Harpoon missiles.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
RSS