The US is working on arms deliveries to Taiwan, visiting US Senator John Hoeven told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, as he called on other countries in the Indo-Pacific region to work together to safeguard peace and stability.
Hoeven arrived in Taiwan yesterday for his first visit to the country. Upon arrival for his three-day visit, he said: “I felt now it’s an important time to come to see my friends.”
Taiwan has been “a very good friend” to himself, his home state of North Dakota and the US, so it is important to continue to stand together as friends and to work together “for deterrence, for peace and for prosperity,” he said.
Photo: CNA
Hoeven is scheduled to discuss exchanges between Taiwan and the US in the fields of economics, agriculture and security, which he called areas that the two countries should continue working on together.
“We want peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” while China’s aggressive actions are causing concerns in the US, he said.
Hoeven, who is a member of the US Senate Committee on Appropriations, said that the US is working on delivering US$19.5 billion in military hardware that Taiwan has purchased.
By visiting Taiwan and listening to Tsai and senior officials in her administration, he hopes to learn about other potential areas for Taiwan-US cooperation, Hoeaven said, adding that such projects would enhance the nation’s self-defense capabilities.
Such efforts also require cooperation with other countries in the region, including Japan and South Korea, which he visited before coming to Taiwan, as well as the Philippines, which is conducting joint military drills with the US, he said.
Tsai thanked Hoeven for promoting trade and economic relations with Taiwan, saying that he sent North Dakota’s first trade delegation to Taiwan in 2004, when he was the state’s governor.
Taiwan established sister-state relations with North Dakota in 1986, after which the state has been one of the most important agricultural exporters to Taiwan, she said.
During his visit, Hoeven is also to meet with National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄), and officials at the Council of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Office of Trade Negotiations. He would also participate in a banquet presided over by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the US and the Philippines for underlining the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement.
The two countries in Washington on Tuesday held the US-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Carlito Galvez Jr.
The four officials “reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity,” the two countries said in a joint statement after the meeting.
The foreign ministry yesterday welcomed the statement, saying that the two countries for the first time mentioned cross-strait peace in a statement after the ministerial dialogue.
Countries around the world have voiced grave concerns about China’s military drills around Taiwan this week, the ministry said, calling on the international community to condemn China’s irrational provocation and stand with Taiwan to safeguard regional stability.
Since China began its drills, the administrations or legislatures of 42 countries have voiced support for Taiwan, including the US, Japan and the EU, ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said, adding that “this is the stance taken by the democratic camp.”
He also expressed gratitude to countries that underlined the importance of cross-strait security and stability, and opposed any unilateral change to the “status quo” at international events.
Regarding recent visits to China by several world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Liu said that the ministry is well aware of the development and would continue to pay attention.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
RSS