Several US lawmakers on Thursday expressed concern over China’s redoubled efforts to isolate Taiwan and the US government’s indecision on arms sales to Taiwan.
In a hearing on Taiwan-US ties, the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce said it is more important than ever to reassure Taipei of Washington’s commitment to the relationship, at a time when Taiwan is facing new challenges as a result of changes in cross-strait and global dynamics.
Royce cited as examples Panama’s decision to break off decades of diplomatic relations with Taiwan because of inducements from Beijing, and Taiwan’s exclusion from this year’s World Health Assembly due to Chinese obstruction.
Photo: EPA
Delays by successive US administrations on arms sales notifications for Taiwan “have needlessly dragged out the arms sales process,” he said.
“I hope to see regular notifications in the future and look forward to the announcement of new sales this year,” Royce said.
The administration of former US president Barack Obama reportedly planned to approve an arms sales package worth more than US$1 billion to Taiwan late last year, but did not do so.
Contrary to expectations that the administration of US President Donald Trump would move the package forward quickly, the deal has been delayed to avoid angering China, as Washington is seeking Beijing’s help in dealing with North Korea, US media reports have said.
At Thursday’s hearing, US Representative Brad Sherman said that although maintaining ties with China is important to the US and it needs Beijing’s help to solve certain problems, Taiwan should not become a bargaining chip in US-China relations.
US Representative Ted Yoho, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, said that since 2008, arms sales have been delayed so that they can be bundled together and their timing can be manipulated.
The US has not completed an arms sale to Taiwan since 2015, despite China’s increasing global military ambitions, Yoho said.
“The arms sales process has become a political calculation designed to minimize friction with the PRC,” he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“Not only does this concede to Beijing a degree of influence over our arms sales process, it seems to contravene [former US] president [Ronald] Reagan’s assurance that the PRC would not be consulted on arms sales to Taiwan,” he said.
Saying that the geopolitical reality that held when the US established its “one China” policy has changed, Yoho proposed that Washington sign a fourth communique with Beijing to spell out clearly what the US would do to contain China’s clout.
American Enterprise Institute Asian Studies director Dan Blumenthal disagreed on the need for a fourth communique.
He said that China should abide by the three existing communiques and that the US has its own “one China” policy to implement.
He urged the Trump administration to include Taiwan in its Asia-Pacific strategy, particularly on the South China Sea issue.
On the question of whether Taiwan will be able to acquire F-35 jets from the US, Blumenthal said a key issue is whether Taiwan can afford the aircraft’s exorbitant costs, adding that many other options are available for US-Taiwan security cooperation.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS