Taiwan is still interested in buying F-35 fighters from the US because the model matches the air force’s requirements, Minster of National Defense Yen Teh-fa (嚴德發) told a legislative committee yesterday.
The F-35B’s short takeoff and vertical-landing capabilities definitely meet the needs of the air force, Yen told lawmakers in his first question-and-answer session as minister during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
However, the Ministry of National Defense has not made an official request to the US to purchase the aircraft and he could not say how many it wants to buy, he said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Yen, a former secretary-general of the National Security Council (NSC), reiterated a plan the ministry first announced in late 2011.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of North American Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) told a news briefing that the government has made clear its intention to seek weaponry from the US to meet its air defense needs.
“Hopefully, those needs can be fulfilled soon,” he said.
Asked to comment on Chen’s remarks, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokeswoman Sonia Urbom said in an e-mail that the US remains fully committed to fulfilling its responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), but cannot comment on pending or potential arms sales.
“In accordance with the TRA, we will continue to make available to Taiwan defense articles and services necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” she said. “We continue to review Taiwan’s defensive needs on an ongoing basis and will consult with Congress as required.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was quoted as saying in May last year that her administration had not dismissed the possibility of obtaining F-35 fighters.
“We don’t rule out any items that would be meaningful to our defense and our defense strategy, and the F-35 is one such item,” Tsai told Reuters in an interview.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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