Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) yesterday said the US government’s removal of China from the Rim of the Pacific Exercise invitation list has created a “superb” opportunity for Taiwan to be included in the military drill.
Yen made the remark in response to questions from lawmakers during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
The Rim of the Pacific Exercise is held every two years in June and July, and is overseen by the US Pacific Fleet.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) asked if the government is stepping up its efforts to participate after Washington on Wednesday last week rescinded its invitation to China for this year’s exercise.
The government has consistently lobbied to be a part of the exercise and the decision to do so this year was not prompted by China’s exclusion, Yen said.
Tsai said he believes Taiwan has an excellent opportunity to participate this year, because the nation’s exclusion in the past stemmed from China’s threats to pull out of the drill.
Participation in the exercise would be beneficial, even if only logistical units are involved, Tsai said, adding that the government should put more effort into negotiating the issue with the US.
The US Congress has expressed its support for improving bilateral military ties with Taiwan, as shown by the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act and other bills, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) said, adding that lawmakers would like to know how much headway the government has made in lobbying for Taiwan’s inclusion in the exercise.
The government is grateful for support from the US and the laws should have a positive effect on official Taiwan-US exchanges, Yen said.
The government continues to engage in meaningful dialogue with the US, including negotiating for arms sales and for inclusion in the exercise, he said, adding that Taiwan has “a superb opportunity” to be part of the exercise, but much depends on the attitude of US policymakers.
Meanwhile, the minister dismissed a report that the US might send technical specialists to Taiwan to assist in building submarines.
“There is no such information and it is a groundless report,” Yen said at the hearing.
Taipei-based online media outlet Up Media yesterday reported that a US submarine design team had requested approval from US government authorities to help Taiwan build submarines, because of an agreement it had signed with CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台船).
The request was being reviewed and if given the green light, the design team would send 200 specialists to work at CSBC and take part in Taiwan’s “indigenous defense submarine program” by as early as the end of this year, the report said.
Although he dismissed the report, Yen confirmed ongoing defense ties between Taiwan and the US.
“We appreciate the long-term support of the US Congress, which has advocated bills that are friendly to Taiwan, that help strengthen Taiwan’s defense capabilities and boost bilateral military exchanges,” Yen said. “These exchanges are aimed at cementing peace and stability in the region, and we will continue to develop bilateral consultations.”
The US House of Representatives on Thursday last week passed the US$717 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019 that included provisions to assist with the improvement of Taiwan’s military capabilities.
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
EMERGING FIELDS: The Chinese president said that the two countries would explore cooperation in green technology, the digital economy and artificial intelligence Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday called for an “equal and orderly multipolar world” in the face of “unilateral bullying,” in an apparent jab at the US. Xi was speaking during talks in Beijing with Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, the first South American leader to visit China since US special forces captured then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last month — an operation that Beijing condemned as a violation of sovereignty. Orsi follows a slew of leaders to have visited China seeking to boost ties with the world’s second-largest economy to hedge against US President Donald Trump’s increasingly unpredictable administration. “The international situation is fraught
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
GROWING AMBITIONS: The scale and tempo of the operations show that the Strait has become the core theater for China to expand its security interests, the report said Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have surged nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs. Sorties in the Taiwan Strait were previously irregular, totaling 380 in 2020, but have since evolved into routine operations, the report showed. “This demonstrates that the Taiwan Strait has become both the starting point and testing ground for Beijing’s expansionist ambitions,” it said. Driven by military expansionism, China is systematically pursuing actions aimed at altering the regional “status quo,” the department said, adding that Taiwan represents the most critical link in China’s
RSS