US President Donald Trump’s failure to fill many of the top posts in his administration has hampered defense cooperation between Taiwan and the US, US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers told a news conference on Sunday.
Hammond-Chambers said that although he is “frustrated,” he is still optimistic about ongoing defense cooperation between the two nations.
Helping Taiwan build indigenous defensive submarines is a set US policy, but the US Department of State has since September last year failed to grant authorization to US firms seeking to offer technical support for Taiwan’s Dutch-built Zwaardvis-class submarines.
The department did not say “No,” but the situation in Washington is that there is no one to make a decision, Hammond-Chambers said, and the vacant posts have affected the implementation of defense security plans between Taiwan and the US.
He said he agrees that Taiwan’s insufficient defense budget has had a negative effect on its ability to upgrade its air combat capabilities and deter threats.
Advanced fifth-generation jets would give Taiwan unique and strong defensive capabilities, he said, adding that if the US cannot provide Taiwan with Lockheed Martin F-35 jets, then it should come up with a feasible alternative plan.
The conference, held from Sunday to today in Princeton, New Jersey, is a platform for dialogue on Taiwan’s national security needs, weapons procurement and defense cooperation with the US.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard