President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday emphasized the importance of the Taiwan-US partnership in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, as she received Project 2049 Institute chairman Randall Schriver and members of his delegation at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
Her meeting with the representatives of the US think thank marked the 45th anniversary of the day the Taiwan Relations Act took effect, a cornerstone legislation for Washington’s relationship with the nation, including arms sales to maintain Taiwan’s self-defense capability.
Tsai thanked the US government, Congress and the American people for their continued friendship with Taiwan, adding that Taipei is committed to deepening the partnership and cooperation between the two nations.
Photo: CNA
The Project 2049 Institute is a longtime contributor to the security of the Indo-Pacific region and has voiced support for Taiwan many times at public events and on social media, for which the nation is grateful, she said
Taipei and Washington have unceasingly strengthened the bilateral security partnership, with the US continuing to supply Taiwan with arms as stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” Tsai said.
The six assurances, agreed to by then-US president Ronald Reagan in July 1982, are guarantees that the US would not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, hold prior consultations with China on weapons sales to Taiwan, play any mediation role between Taipei and Beijing, revise the Taiwan Relations Act, change its position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan, or exert pressure on Taiwan to negotiate with China.
Concurrent with US arms sales, Taiwan completed its first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun, and six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes, demonstrating that the nation has the will and capability to defend itself, Tsai said.
Taiwan continues to safeguard regional peace and stability as a partner of the US, Tsai said, adding that she looks forward to exchanging views with the institute’s members.
Schriver said that the Taiwan Relations Act was not merely a contingent product of geostrategic events at the time of its writing, but also serves as an important platform for cooperation in trade, security and military affairs between Taipei and Washington.
Although some have said the Taiwan Relations Act should be amended, the legislation has undoubtedly enabled the two nations to finish the difficult and important work toward achieving the friendship they enjoy today, said Schriver, a former US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs.
The institute’s delegates pray for those affected by the earthquake, Schriver said, adding that Taiwan’s resilience and will in the face of adversity was heartening to see.
The institute thanked Tsai for her contributions to Taiwan-US relations and her inspired leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic from which the world can still benefit, he said.
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