The US government’s US$5.85 billion plan to upgrade Taiwan’s existing F-16A/B jets confirmed the mutual trust between Taipei and Washington, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday, while reiterating his call for the US to sell Taiwan more advanced F-16C/D jets.
In a meeting with US Representative Hank Johnson, a member of the House Committee on Armed Services, at the Presidential Office, Ma said the arms package reflected the US’ attention to the security issue across the Taiwan Strait and he thanked the US for the latest arms sale.
“The [US President Barack] Obama administration has agreed to two arms sales to the Republic of China and that reflects close military cooperation between the two nations, including the training of personnel,” Ma said.
The arms package includes upgrades to Taiwan’s F-16A/Bs, along with pilot training and spare parts, but it does not include new F-16C/Ds that Taipei had wanted to modernize its air force.
Ma said that together with the latest arms sale, the US government has provided US$18.3 billion in weapons to Taiwan since he took the office three years ago.
Arms procurement from the US, he said, does not signal any intention to engage in an arms race with Beijing, but it is necessary to maintain Taiwan’s defensive capabilities.
“We are glad to know that the US government is considering the possibility of selling F-16C/D jets .... The government will continue to push policies that aim at reconciliation across the Taiwan Strait. Maintaining peaceful cross-strait relations is our purpose,” Ma said.
The president also urged the US to grant visa-waver privileges to Taiwanese and to resume negotiations on the Trade and Investment Arrangement (TIFA).
The US postponed a trade meeting in January after the government banned US beef imports that contain traces of ractopamine, an animal feed additive that promotes leaner meat, and removed US beef products from the nations’ shelves.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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