A delegation led by former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen arrived in Taipei yesterday afternoon for discussions with top-level officials on regional peace and security, among other topics.
The delegation, which includes four other former US defense and security officials and their staffers, departed for Taiwan on a US government aircraft on Monday and arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at 4:13pm yesterday.
On arrival, they were greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) at a news conference in Taipei earlier yesterday said that the government warmly welcomed the two-day visit by the delegation, which was sent by US President Joe Biden in reflection of his nation’s rock-solid commitment to Taiwan amid the unfolding Ukraine crisis.
Led by Mullen, the delegation also includes Meghan O’Sullivan, a former deputy national security adviser under former US president George W. Bush, and Michele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense in former US president Barack Obama’s administration.
The delegation is scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) today to discuss regional peace and stability, Taiwan-US relations and various areas of bilateral cooperation, the government said.
The former US officials would also meet with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and other top-level officials during their two-day visit, it said.
The visit by the delegation underlines “the importance of Taiwan-US relations,” “Taiwan’s important status,” and “the US’ emphasis on regional peace and its firm support for Taiwan,” Su told reporters yesterday morning ahead of a meeting at the legislature in Taipei.
A senior official in the Biden administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the trip is intended to “demonstrate our continued robust support for Taiwan,” Reuters reported.
However, the official declined to say whether the timing of the visit was influenced by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Reuters said.
Meanwhile, a Taiwanese national security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, on Monday told the Central News Agency that Biden’s selection of former senior defense and security officials was meant to offer “reassurance” of the US’ commitment to peace and security in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.
Furthermore, the visit, which comes less than a year after Biden sent a delegation to Taiwan led by US Senator Christopher Dodd, suggests that Washington might be seeking a new approach for fast and effective official contacts with Taipei, on top of the existing communication mechanisms, the Taiwanese official said.
Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, said that the discussions between the delegation and Taiwanese officials were likely to cover “new topics” rather than just regular or existing projects.
The delegation might offer advice on Taiwan’s national defense policy, building up the military and overall security improvements during the visit, which is meant to demonstrate the US’ desire to maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait, Chieh said.
Speaking at an online event organized by US think tank the German Marshall Fund on US-Europe cooperation in Asia, US National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell on Monday said that the US government would show its determination in the coming months to sustain high-level engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.
ANTI-SHIP CONFIGURATION: The Tuo Chiang-class vessels are to be built for NT$9.7 billion by Lung Teh, a shipyard that previously built four similar corvettes for the navy The Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday awarded Lung Teh Shipbuilding (龍德造船) a NT$9.7 billion Co (US$317.57 million) contract to build five Tuo Chiang-class corvettes with anti-ship capabilities, a defense official familiar with the matter said yesterday. The corvettes would carry vertical launchers for four Hsiung Feng II (HF-2) missiles, as well as eight Hsiung Feng III (HF-3) anti-ship missiles, in contrast to ships configured for anti-air warfare, which carry eight HF-2 and four HF-3 missiles, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The anti-ship corvettes would be armed for improved standoff range against surface combatants and carry the latest
NINE TYPES: One of the devices can be carried by a single soldier and can destroy high-value, high-risk vehicles as well as target personnel, an official said Taiwan’s top military research body yesterday unveiled nine domestically developed drones in Taichung, including a loitering munition, or “suicide drone,” similar to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300. The surveillance and attack drones shown to the media by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology included the Albatross medium-range uncrewed aerial vehicle Nos. 1 and 2, and the Teng Yun 2 and Cardinal 2 and 3 indigenous uncrewed combat aerial vehicles. The institute also unveiled a domestically made drone inspired by the AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which Ukrainian forces have employed in the country’s war with Russia. Aeronautical Systems Research Division head Chi Li-pin (齊立平)
PARTIAL SUPPORT: Morris Chang said he agrees with the US’ goal to slow advances of China’s chip sector, but US policies that might boost chip prices perplex him Washington’s efforts to on-shore semiconductor production might lead to surges in chip prices and supply bottlenecks, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) said yesterday. The 91-year-old industry veteran said he supports parts of Washington’s effort to slow China’s progress on advanced chip manufacturing. China is still six years behind Taiwan in making advanced chips, despite years-long efforts to catch up, Chang told a Commonwealth Magazine forum that he coheadlined with Tufts University assistant professor Chris Miller, an expert on the US-China rivalry’s effects on chip manufacturing. However, Chang said that other parts of the effort, particularly Washington’s on-shoring
‘WRONG DECISION’: Honduras should carefully consider the situation, and not fall into China’s trap and jeopardize the bilateral friendship, the foreign ministry said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that it had expressed “grave concern” to the government of Honduras after Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday wrote on Twitter that it would pursue official diplomatic relations with China. In addition to issuing a statement, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) summoned Honduran Ambassador to Taiwan Harold Burgos to the ministry in Taipei early yesterday to voice the government’s concerns. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes and Burgos did not make any public comments upon arriving at the ministry. Burgos said shortly after noon that he had not yet heard from his country’s
RSS