The sale of F-16V jets by the US to Taiwan has not been put on hold, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, denying a US media report that the administration of US President Donald Trump has temporarily set aside the sale to facilitate a trade agreement with China.
Taipei has maintained close communications with Washington since a letter of request to purchase the jets was submitted to the US, ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
The US is conducting a review and “the sale has not been shelved,” Lee said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuen, Taipei Times
The ministry’s comments came in response to a Time magazine report on Friday that said — citing three anonymous US officials — that the administration had shelved the sale until a trade deal with China is sealed.
The White House’s initial decision, reported late last month, to offer tacit approval for Taiwan to buy 60 Lockheed Martin F-16Vs was widely seen as a US show of strength against China, Time said.
However, the decision to delay approval of the sale has contributed to concern among some in the administration that Trump might go soft on China in his desire to secure a trade deal, it said.
It cited the officials as saying that the draft trade agreement being negotiated would boost Trump’s political fortunes and ease jittery stock markets, but it is unlikely to address many of the issues at the core of the US-China trade dispute.
The US Congress must also approve any arms sales to Taiwan, and the administration has yet to submit such a request to lawmakers, the magazine said.
The US Department of State, which opposed the proposed arms sale, has also called for an interagency meeting to determine whether the US can sell M1 Abrams tanks to Taiwan, Time quoted an administration official as saying.
However, Lee said that the relationship between Taiwan and the US has been close and cordial.
“Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US has sold arms to Taiwan twice, demonstrating its firm support for Taiwan’s security,” Lee said.
High-ranking US officials have publicly reiterated their support for the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), he added.
Signed into law on April 10, 1979, following Washington’s switch of recognition from Taipei to Beijing, the TRA authorizes the US to provide Taiwan with defensive arms.
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that the Time report was not based on fact and that US arms sales to Taiwan are in accordance with the TRA and the “six assurances.”
The American Institute in Taiwan said it does not comment on proposed arms sales.
“We only comment after they have been notified to Congress,” the institute said.
NOT BUYING IT: One of the goals of Beijing’s Cross-Strait Media People Summit was to draw mainstream media executives to discuss the ‘one country, two systems’ formula Taiwanese news media insist on press freedom and professionalism, and would never become a tool of China’s “united front” campaign, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, responding to media queries about the lack of Taiwanese media executives at the Cross-Strait Media People Summit in Beijing. Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) was reportedly furious that no Taiwanese media representatives attended a scheduled meeting with him on Thursday last week. “Beijing should take Taiwan’s determination to pursue freedom and democracy seriously. We also hope that it will not use vicious means to interfere with Taiwan’s development into a
IMMIGRATION REFORM: The legislative amendments aim to protect the rights of families to reunify, and to attract skilled professionals to stay and work in Taiwan Foreigners who are highly skilled professionals, top-prize winners in professional disciplines, investment immigration applicants or have made special contributions to Taiwan can soon apply for permanent residency on behalf of their spouses and minor or disabled children after the legislature approved amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法). The amendments, which were proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Executive Yuan on Jan. 12, aim to attract foreign talent to Taiwan and encourage them to stay. They would take effect once they are signed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The amendments involved changing 63 articles, making it the biggest
FIRST STEP: Business groups in Taiwan welcomed the deal, which does not include tariff reductions at this stage, as they called for the elimination of double taxation Taiwan and the US yesterday signed an initial agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade. The agreement was signed yesterday morning by Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Managing Director Ingrid Larson in Washington, the Office of Trade Negotiations in Taipei said. The ceremony was witnessed by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) and Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi. Taiwan and the US started talks under the initiative in August last year, after Taipei was left out of the Washington-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. “The deal that will be signed tonight is not only very historic,
Beijing yesterday blamed US “provocation” for an incident last week in which a Chinese plane crossed in front of a US surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. The incident came at a time of frayed ties between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan and the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US this year. “The United States’ long-term and frequent sending of ships and planes to conduct close surveillance on China seriously harms China’s national sovereignty and security,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said when asked about the latest incident. “This
RSS