In a speech at a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Republican US presidential hopeful Rick Perry said he would make Taiwan his first international stop if he were elected US president next year, and specifically named Taiwan as an “ally in the region,” the ThinkProgress Security Web site reported.
Perry’s remarks came amid various claims from other Republican presidential hopefuls making attacks on the foreign policies of US President Barack Obama’s administration.
Taiwan has asked to purchase F-16C/D aircraft to modernize its aging fleet of fighters, but the Obama administration has said “no, we’re going to give you the old equipment, we’re not going to give you the newest equipment,” Perry said, adding that even though the offers “are [US] dollars that would be going to American manufacturers ... in Fort Worth, where the F-16s are built,” the Obama administration refused to sell the F-16s to both Taiwan and India.
Taipei has for years asked Washington for 66 F-16C/Ds, but despite pressure from both the US Congress and persistent lobbying by Taiwan, the Obama administration officially declined to release them in late September, offering instead to upgrade Taiwan’s current fleet of 145 F-16A/Bs.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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