The US on Friday reiterated its support for Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities in a statement affirming its commitment to the Indo-Pacific region.
The White House said that Washington has supported Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities through a range of security assistance authorities and resources, including the first-ever use of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Taiwan, as well as International Military Education and Training (IMET).
US President Joe Biden had identified the Indo-Pacific as the critical region for the future of the US and the world, it said.
Photo: Bloomberg
“In pursuit of regional peace, security and stability, we have reinvested in our defense presence and capabilities, integrated our efforts with partners and modernized our alliances, and collectively deterred aggression and coercion,” the statement said. “We have used a range of security assistance authorities and resources to provide Taiwan defensive arms and services necessary to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability, commensurate with the threat it faces.”
“This assistance is an important part of our efforts to maintain cross-strait peace and stability,” it said.
For a prosperous Indo-Pacific region, the US has collaborated with partners such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and New Zealand to support small Pacific island countries by funding more than US$37 million in undersea cable projects, it said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed its appreciation to the US for reiterating its use of FMF and PDA for Taiwan, for the IMET program, and other resources to help maintain the nation’s self-defense capability, and cross-strait peace and stability.
The US’ collaborative undersea cables projects was a good example of Taiwan’s “integrated diplomacy” strategy, the ministry said.
“Taiwan is not only an important force in maintaining regional peace and global prosperity, but also a trustworthy partner in defending global economic safety and resilience,” it said.
The Biden administration had also announced 19 arms sales to Taiwan, continuing the US policy of normalized weapons sales to Taiwan, it said, adding that the sales underscore the US’ staunch commitment to and support for bolstering Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities and resilience.
“The more secure Taiwan, the more secure the world. The more resilient Taiwan, the sounder the defense of global democracy,” the ministry said, quoting President William Lai’s (賴清德) New Year’s address.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also publicly stressed that Taiwan is not China’s business, but the world’s business, it added.
Taiwan, the US and other allies and partners have cooperated to build a shared foundation for the Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, connected, prosperous, secure and resilient, it said.
By building on the solid friendship with the US, Taiwan can bolster cooperation with the incoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, it added.
The nation also hopes to continue demonstrating its self-defense determination by improving its defense capabilities and resilience through US arms sales, national defense reforms and whole-of-society defense resilience approaches, as well as deepening the security, economic and trade partnership with the US, the ministry said.
The White House statement also mentioned the US’ multifaceted efforts in the region, including upholding freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region in accordance with international law, reaffirming its support for ASEAN, launching the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and the AUKUS Enhanced Security Partnership, and collaborating with regional partners to enhance resilience against transnational threats, including climate change, natural disasters and infectious diseases.
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
RSS