The US should sell Taiwan the weapons it requires to deter Chinese aggression, former National Security Council deputy secretary-general Parris Chang (張旭成) said on Wednesday in Washington.
“Taiwan has lots of defense needs in the face of the growing threat from China,” he told a roundtable discussion hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Chang was part of a delegation of senior former officials from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) visiting the US for talks with members of the US Congress, think tanks and foreign policy experts.
“We have heard lots of talk about US concerns over Taiwan’s defense needs, but we need action,” Chang said.
He said it is important for the US to know that China is not its friend.
Chang called for robust US-Taiwan defense cooperation so that Taiwan “can truly be free from intimidation.”
He pleaded for the administration of US President Barack Obama to sell Taiwan advanced fighter jets, diesel-electric submarines and improved missile technology.
Chang also urged Washington to improve and increase high-level military dialogue between the two nations.
Chang said he acknowledges that the US has stopped making diesel-electric submarines, but added: “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
He said the US could buy submarines from Japan, upgrade them, equip them with new systems and then sell them to Taiwan.
It would take a decade for Taiwan to build its own submarines, while going the Japan route might only take four years, Chang said.
“We really need this deterrent weapon and we hope our message will get to the [US President Barack Obama’s] administration, because this is the one thing that would show the US really cares, is trying to help and is not just talking,” he said.
Chang said the delegation, which includes former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲), has already talked with members of the US Congress, urging them to attend the inauguration of president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
“We would like to see the Obama administration send a high-ranking delegation to attend the inauguration — it would mean a great deal to Taiwan,” he said.
Chang said that Taiwan was facing “considerable pressure” from China in the wake of Tsai’s election.
“The Chinese want her to say in her inaugural speech that she will accept the so-called ‘1992 consensus’ and will accept the ‘one China’ principle — this I am sure she will not do,” he said.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS