A US senator on Tuesday said that if US President Barack Obama’s administration refuses to sell Taiwan the 66 F-16C/D aircraft it is requesting, he would push to have Congress approve the sale instead.
Republican Senator John Cornyn, who made the remarks after visiting Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth aircraft assembly plant in his home state of Texas, said Taiwan needed the aircraft to deter China.
“Congress has traditionally delegated this authority to the president, but it can pass legislation allowing this sale to take place,” Cornyn told the Star-Telegram.
“There’s significant support in Congress for providing our allies [Taiwan] with these planes, and I believe, under the Taiwan Relations Act, we’re obligated to do so,” he was quoted as saying.
Cornyn said an amendment to the defense authorization bill to approve Taiwan’s request could be introduced in October or November.
The amendment would require approval by Congress and Obama could still exercise his veto powers to prevent the sale, but this would mean scuttling approval of a wide variety of defense programs, he said.
Forty-five senators and 181 members of the US House of Representatives have signed letters urging Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to release the aircraft.
Earlier this year, Cornyn held up the confirmation of William Burns as US deputy secretary of state, resulting in a compromise by Clinton, who said the US would announce its final decision on Oct. 1.
Beijing has characterized the sale of F-16C/Ds to Taiwan as a “red line” and threatened retaliation, including severing military-to-military ties, if the US allowed it to go through.
So far the US has not officially accepted Taiwan’s request for the F-16C/Ds, with reports saying that the US Department of State had instructed Taiwan’s representative office in Washington not to submit a “Letter of Request.”
Although the Pentagon and the Ministry of National Defense maintain that the deal is not dead, recent reports claim Washington is likely only to approve an upgrade program for Taiwan’s aging F-16A/B fleet.
Washington’s refusal to release the more advanced F-16C/Ds would be a mistake, Cornyn said, and would “demonstrate we’ll give our allies the back of our hand” to pacify “our adversaries,” the newspaper wrote, adding that a well-armed Taiwan would take off some of the pressure on US forces involved in operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
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DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old