The US said on Monday that there was a “possibility” that a barracks for US Marine security forces at the planned new American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) headquarters in Neihu, Taipei City, may be built, but there are no current plans to station Marines at the complex.
State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that a procurement announcement in English-language newspapers in Taiwan last week should not be construed as a change in US policy toward the stationing of US military personnel in Taiwan.
Aside from the assignment of a few US military attaches at the AIT Taipei headquarters in 2005, the presence of US military forces in Taiwan has been barred since the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
US Marines are deployed as guards at US embassies around the world.
In answer to a question at his daily press briefing, Casey said the ad had created a “bit of confusion.”
“There are discussions about having a new compound or new complex built to replace the existing AIT structure in Taipei. The notices that have gone out have included the broadest possible kinds of elements that might be included in there. But at this point I’m not aware that there are any plans to station US Marines at AIT in Taipei,” Casey said.
Asked whether a Marine barracks is being planned, Casey said: “That’s a possibility. But it’s not. Again this is a request for proposals on a range of options for a new building and for a new compound. And again there certainly would be a security element to that. There’s a security element in AIT there right now, though it isn’t US Marines that are providing it.”
He said that procurement ads are not “indicative of anything more” than that in seeking a contractor, the US wants to give bidders a “full range of options.”
“I don’t think anyone should see this as a signal that we’re changing our policy or that we intend to place Marines at this point at AIT Taipei,” he said.
Plans for the Neihu complex have been in the works for several years, but the government has not yet funded the entire project. In its budget request for the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1, the US State Department called for sufficient funding to pay for the facility, which it estimated would cost more than US$170 million.
However, it put the new facility under the budget category of “strategic capital,” a subset of its Worldwide Security Upgrade budget line which emphasized “critical maintenance and infrastructure investment,” with a reference to Iraq and the security problems there.
The new AIT facility was the only one mentioned in the “strategic capital” section.
The AIT section of the budget commented that there “remains a need for critical facilities upgrades other than security [eg, strategic, policy or political considerations].”
“The FY [fiscal year] 2009 Strategic Capital request, when combined with funding previously provided from proceeds of sale and contributions by the American Institute in Taiwan, will provide [US]$171.6 million for the construction of a new office compound in Taipei, Taiwan,” the budget request said.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS