Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs.
“The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,” Miller said.
Photo: Screen grab from YouTube
Citing the security cooperation that the US has provided over the decades, Miller said that Taiwan has purchased necessary military equipment and that “it has not been in any way charity from the United States.”
He also highlighted the importance of cross-strait peace and stability, and how it was essential to the US and the global economy.
The first-ever foreign military financing package for Taiwan that would be partly funded by US taxpayers reflected the US’ long-standing commitment to Taiwan to ensure it has “the defense articles and services necessary for it to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” he said.
Separately, Taiwan’s representative office in Washington said that US support for Taiwan has always been bipartisan.
Taiwan is willing and determined to take on more responsibility for its self-defense, the office said.
Meanwhile, two Republican lawmakers on Wednesday said that Taipei is one of the biggest buyers of US defense equipment and reiterated US support for Taiwan.
US Representative Michael McCaul, who chairs the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, made the comments via e-mail after he was asked by the Central News Agency (CNA) about Trump’s interview.
Trump “is right that US allies should always play a significant role in their own defense,” McCaul said. “Taiwan is a perfect example of what we want all our allies to do. They have consistently been one of the biggest buyers of US weapons for its defense.”
The lawmaker also criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration, saying that it was slow to work with the US defense industry to deliver orders that have been paid for on time, including to Taiwan.
“With two hot wars and one hot zone, we need a president who will take the steps needed to get our defense industrial base on track to meet the threats we face today,” McCaul added.
US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, cochair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, told CNA in a separate e-mail that the US Congress stands strongly with its democratic ally and partner Taiwan, emphasizing that Taipei has been instrumental in maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region and countering the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Diaz-Balart, who is also chairman of the US House of Representatives State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee, was one of the sponsors of a series of national security supplemental bills relating to Taiwan that were signed into law earlier this year.
“These critical pieces of legislation included US$2 billion in foreign military financing for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to strengthen defense capabilities, promote regional stability and support US national security interests,” he said.
Taiwan has been “one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, purchased with Taiwan’s own funding, supporting American businesses and jobs,” he added.
“The United States remains steadfast in its support of the people of Taiwan and I have no doubt that will continue under a Trump administration,” he added.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS