US Senator Roger Wicker in Taipei yesterday said he expects the US and Taiwan to jointly produce weapons, something Taipei has pushed for.
Wicker, chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, made the remarks when asked by local media how the US would enhance cooperation with Taiwan through the joint production of weapons, as well as whether ongoing tariff negotiations would affect Taiwan-US defense cooperation.
“I think there’s going to be joint production and joint efforts, and that will depend on the skills present both on this side of the Pacific Ocean and ours, and actually we’re open to suggestion and innovation in that regard,” Wicker said at a brief media session at the Taipei Guest House before leaving Taiwan yesterday afternoon.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Wicker and US Senator Deb Fischer, who also serves on the committee, arrived in Taiwan on Friday. They met with President William Lai (賴清德) on Friday and had a luncheon with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) earlier yesterday.
The visit came at a time when Taiwan is facing a 20 percent tariff on exports to the US, as part of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new trade policy on many countries.
Wicker said that there were talks on trade going on around the world.
“That in no way affects the defense alliance and friendship and determination that the United States has to be a friend to the sovereign rights of the Taiwanese people to enjoy their democracy and to make their own decisions,” he said.
Wicker said the relationship between Taiwan and the US has been long-standing and filled with resolve, and a reason for his visit is to send a firm and strong message of friendship and determination that Taiwan “is separate, free and entitled to make its own decisions.”
“This trip has been very meaningful, and I can’t tell you how warmly we’ve been received,” Wicker said, adding that the trip was too short, but was packed, including a comprehensive conversation with Lai, and meetings with various ministers and members of the military.
“The friendship, the alliance, the great relationship that the United States and Taiwan have had spans for decades. It’s long-standing, permanent and filled with resolve,” he said.
The US has stood by Taiwan for many years, Wicker said, adding that its support is stated in the Taiwan Relations Act, included in the “six assurances,” and reiterated almost every year when the US publishes proposals that would go in its National Defense Authorization Act.
“We are separated from a great distance, but we are united by the principles that have kept the Taiwanese people and the American people free and independent for years and years and years,” said Wicker, one of the fiercest supporters of Taiwan in the US Congress.
“We stand by that, and we cannot adequately express our great love and friendship for the Taiwanese people,” he added.
Asked how Taiwan should strengthen defense capability and weaponry in the face of Chinese pressure, he said the steps would be a decision made by “an independent sovereign democracy, by their own leadership,” while there are consultations between Taiwan and the US.
“The US’ and Taiwan’s militaries are working together every day, and we understand each other,” he said.
There are forces in the region that believe they can impose their will on a separate nation, but those forces are mistaken, and the US would continue to develop the weapons necessary to make that point, he said.
Beijing, which regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington, has criticized Wicker’s visit, saying it “undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and sends a gravely wrong signal to the separatist Taiwan independence forces.”
The senators’ two-day visit to Taiwan followed stops in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and the Philippines.
Additional reporting by AP
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