The US is a reliable partner of Taiwan and committed to providing resolute support to the nation, visiting US lawmakers said yesterday, adding that China’s recent military drills sent a strong signal for the US to accelerate the delivery of weapons to Taiwan.
US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul is leading a cross-party congressional delegation to Taiwan that arrived on Sunday.
On behalf of US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, the visit is to congratulate President William Lai (賴清德) on taking office and “celebrate a victory for democracy,” US Representative and cochair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus Andy Barr told a news conference yesterday.
Photo: Shu Fu, EPA-EFE
The US is “fully and completely committed to deterrence by supporting Taiwan militarily, diplomatically and economically,” he said, adding that its resolve to maintain the “status quo” and peace in the Taiwan Strait should not be doubted.
“The resoluteness which the United States Congress has behind Taiwan is extremely strong,” McCaul said.
Taiwan’s importance lies in its people, democracy, freedom, prosperity, science and technology, and innovation, he said.
Photo: Ben Blanchard, Reuters
“And it’s because the people of Taiwan are just like the people of the United States,” he added.
McCaul highlighted repeatedly that “deterrence is key,” pledging to “get the weapons you purchase to you as soon as possible.”
Asked about the delays in the delivery of weapons by Washington, McCaul said: “We are moving forward on those weapons systems.”
It is crucial to let Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) understand that “the risk outweighs the reward” when considering taking military action against Taiwan, he said.
McCaul said he hoped the deterrence provided by the US and the support the delegation has shown through its presence in Taiwan would help prevent military conflicts in the region and make Xi realize that “it’s simply not worth it.”
Bejing’s military exercises around Taiwan last week sent “a very strong message” to the US, which the delegation would convey to the US Congress and US President Joe Biden, he said.
As the US is holding its presidential election in November, McCaul assured Taiwan that “regardless of ... which candidate wins the presidential [election], I do not see that support [for Taiwan] wavering whatsoever.”
“We are stronger when we stand together,” he told Lai when the delegation met with the president earlier yesterday.
“America is and always will be a reliable partner and no amount of coercion or intimidation will slow down or stop the routine visits by the [US] Congress to Taiwan,” he said.
Congratulating Lai on winning the election and taking office, McCaul said that he looked forward to working with the new administration.
“I think Taiwan has the right man at the right time in the right place,” he said.
Lai thanked the delegation for showing its firm support for Taiwan through the visit and vowed to continue to deepen cooperation with the US and other like-minded countries to safeguard regional peace, stability and prosperity.
While Taiwan is bolstering its national defense capabilities, Lai said he hoped the US Congress would continue to assist Taiwan in the effort through legislative actions.
“I’m confident that Taiwan-US relations will steadily deepen, leading to ever more fruitful exchanges,” Lai said.
The other members of the visiting delegation are Republicans Young Kim and Joe Wilson, and Democrats Jimmy Panetta and Chrissy Houlahan.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS