Taiwanese love democracy and seek peace, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, adding that Taipei would continue to work with the US and other democracies as the nation faces “continued authoritarian expansionism” from China.
Tsai made the comments at the start of a lunch with a visiting delegation of US lawmakers, hours after Beijing announced three days of military exercises around Taiwan.
“In recent years we have faced continued authoritarian expansionism,” Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
“Cooperation among democracies has become even more important. We will continue to work with the US and other like-minded countries to jointly defend the values of freedom and democracy,” she said, adding that “the people of Taiwan love democracy, seek peace and are keen to fulfill their responsibility in the international community.”
She also thanked the US Congress for being “a key force” in promoting relations between Taipei and Washington.
US Representative Michael McCaul, who led the visiting delegation, said they were in Taipei to show their strong support of Taiwan and that it was important that democracies stand together.
Photo: CNA
“As the [US] House [of Representatives] Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, I sign off on all foreign military sales, including weapons to Taiwan, and I promise you, Madam President, we will deliver those weapons,” he said.
Taiwan has since last year complained of delays regarding deliveries of US weapons, such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers seek to supply Ukraine to support its defense against Russia.
“We are doing everything we can in Congress to speed up these sales and get the weapons that you need to defend yourselves,” McCaul said.
McCaul, without elaborating, also said the US would provide training for the Taiwanese military in an effort to enhance the latter’s defensive capabilities.
“We will provide training to your military — not for war, but for peace,” he said. “Projecting weakness only invites aggression and conflict. Projecting strength provides deterrence and promotes peace.”
McCaul on Thursday arrived in Taiwan for a three-day visit, as part of a wider Indo-Pacific tour that also includes stops in Japan and South Korea.
The eight-member delegation also includes US representatives Guy Reschenthaler; Young Kim, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific; and Ami Bera, also a member of the foreign affairs committee.
The delegation has also met with executives of Taiwanese semiconductor and defense companies over the past few days.
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
CABINET APPROVAL: People seeking assisted reproduction must be assessed to determine whether they would be adequate parents, the planned changes say Proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) advanced yesterday by the Executive Yuan would grant married lesbian couples and single women access to legal assisted reproductive services. The proposed revisions are “based on the fundamental principle of respecting women’s reproductive autonomy,” Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday, as saying at the briefing. The draft amendment would be submitted to the legislature for review. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which proposed the amendments, said that experts on children’s rights, gender equality, law and medicine attended cross-disciplinary meetings, adding that
RSS