President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday thanked Washington for supplying new arms to Taiwan, saying it gave his administration more confidence when dealing with China.
Ma said he learned from the US media recently that there might be some new developments in the country’s arms procurement plans.
“We are happy to see such a development,” he said. “The US government’s arms sale to Taiwan is not only Washington’s obligation as stated in the Taiwan Relations Act but also conducive to stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Ma said the country was thankful that the US government was resolute in its position on this issue and because of Washington’s insistence, the region would be safer and more prosperous.
Ma made the remarks while meeting a delegation led by Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, at the Presidential Office yesterday morning.
The Washington Post ran a Reuters story on Thursday saying that the US Department of Defense had awarded Lockheed Martin Corp a contract for selling an unspecified number of advanced Patriot missiles to Taiwan.
The report quoted defense analysts as saying that the hardware was among the best in its class and could shoot down Chinese short-range and mid-range missiles.
China was quick to denounce the plan and urged the US to scrap the planned sale.
The Chinese foreign ministry also demanded that Washington avoid arranging a meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, the China Daily reported.
The Washington Post said the meeting and the arms sale could take place early in the year.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) urged Washington to “see clearly the harm [of any such moves] and cancel the arms sale plan to Taiwan so as to avoid disturbing the overall situation,” the China Daily said.
She called on the US to adhere to the three Sino-US joint communiques, especially the principles established in the Joint Communique on Aug. 17, 1982.
The communique states that the US intends to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading, over a period of time, to a final resolution.
The China Daily said the revised arms sale proposal was announced by Robert Kovac, the acting US deputy assistant secretary of state for defense trade, in December.
The package includes design assistance on diesel-electric submarines and 60 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. In addition, more PAC-3 missiles, as well as an operations deal for a command and control program, were under discussion, the report quoted Kovac as saying.
The former administration of US president George W. Bush announced a US$6.5 billion arms package for Taiwan in October 2008. The deal included 30 Apache attack helicopters and 330 Patriot missiles. It was to be the biggest arms sale to Taiwan since China and the US signed the 1982 Communique.
The contract with Lockheed Martin Corp this time was a part of that deal in 2008.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS