The UK approved a sharp increase in exports of submarine parts and technology last year to Taiwan as it upgrades its naval forces.
The value of licenses granted by the UK government to companies for the export of submarine components and technology to Taiwan totaled a record £167 million (US$202 million) during the first nine months of last year, UK government export licensing data showed.
That is more than the previous six years combined, a Reuters analysis of the data showed.
Photo: REUTERS
The data is publicly accessible, but the most recent figures on Taiwan have not previously been reported.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China, and strongly objects to perceived foreign interference with the nation, as it believes it to be support for Taiwanese sovereignty.
When presented with the figures by Reuters, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “If this is true, it is a serious violation of the ‘one China’ principle, undermines China’s sovereignty and security interests, and undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
“China is highly concerned about this and firmly opposes it,” it said, urging the UK to “refrain from providing military support to the Taiwan authorities.”
The UK has a long record of “granting licenses for exports of controlled goods to Taiwan, on a case-by-case basis, where those applications are consistent with the rules that regulate the exports of arms and dual-use products,” a British government spokesperson said in a statement.
“We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion,” they added.
The increase in licenses granted reflects greater demand from Taiwan, two British government officials said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Two British lawmakers with knowledge of the exports and two former British officials said the approvals reflected the UK’s increased willingness to support Taiwan.
One of the lawmakers, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said authorizing the export licenses amounted to giving a “green light” to better equip Taiwan.
The data is from the Export Control Organisation, which is responsible for export licensing and sits within the British Department for International Trade.
It shows that the UK government authorized 25 export licenses to Taiwan during the first nine months of last year under the “components for submarines” and “technology for submarines” categories.
The data does not disclose which companies received the authorization or detail what equipment it covers.
In response to a request for comment about the submarine-related exports from the UK, the Ministry of National Defense said that its ship-building program was “a major national policy, and the navy has promoted various projects in a pragmatic way under it.”
“We hope that all walks of life will continue to give their support, to jointly maintain the security and peace of the Taiwan Strait,” it said.
SWITCH TO BEIJING: The government severed diplomatic relations about an hour after Honduras announced the move, saying that no semi-official ties would be maintained Taiwan severed diplomatic ties with Honduras and ended all cooperation with the Central American country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, about an hour and a half after the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Twitter at 8am Taiwan time that the nation would cut its ties with Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Wednesday sent Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina to Beijing to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations. She announced the plan on March 14 on Twitter. “To safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity, Taiwan is terminating diplomatic ties with Honduras with immediate effect” after communication with
TRADE MISSION: After Fijian elections in December last year, pro-democratic parties formed a coalition and overruled a name change imposed by the former government The Taipei Trade Office in Fiji has been restored to its former name, the Trade Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Republic of Fiji, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Fiji on Friday last week issued a note verbale to the office saying that the name change was retroactively effective from March 15, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Wallace Chow (周民淦) told a news conference in Taipei. The mission’s diplomatic privileges have been reinstated as stipulated in Fiji’s Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act, which was enacted in 1971, Chow said. Taiwan set up a trade
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday departed for a 12-day trip to China as scheduled, despite calls for him to cancel the trip after Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan as an apparent result of China’s dollar diplomacy. “This is my first trip to China. I was 37 when I began handling cross-strait affairs in the government. Now I am 73 and have waited 36 years for the visit. It is indeed a bit too long, but I am glad I can go,” Ma of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) told reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. “Aside from paying respects to
‘INDISPENSABLE ROLE’: Despite stopovers in the US, Tsai said the aim of her trip is to ‘demonstrate determination to deepen exchanges’ with the allies of the nation President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday afternoon left Taiwan on a 10-day trip to Central America that includes stopovers in New York and Los Angeles. “Through this visit, I will express my gratitude to diplomatic partners for their support of Taiwan,” Tsai said at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport shortly before boarding the plane. The trip to Guatemala and Belize — her first overseas journey since the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping around the world in early 2020 — aims to “demonstrate Taiwan’s determination to deepen exchanges” with its Central American allies, she said. Tsai said that she and her delegation would also explore the possibility