The partnership between Taiwan and diplomatic ally Belize will grow stronger, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday at a virtual ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Caribbean nation’s independence.
Belize’s embassy in Taiwan and the Taipei-based Central America Trade Office hosted the ceremony and Tsai delivered the congratulatory remark via a pre-recorded video.
“Over our 32 years of diplomatic relations, Taiwan and Belize have developed a close friendship, collaborating on joint projects to promote healthcare, infrastructure and agricultural development,” Tsai said.
Last year, the two nations also signed agreements that would foster deeper collaboration on trade and investment, legal assistance and aviation services, she said.
“Going forward, we will continue to strengthen our nations’ partnership and advance the well-being of our people,” Tsai said, thanking Belize for supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
Belizean Ambassador to Taiwan Candice Pitts underlined in her remarks the friendship and mutual support her country has developed with Taiwan since the two established diplomatic ties in 1989.
“One of the striking commonalities between Belize and Taiwan, as well as our other diplomatic allies here, is the vigor with which we safeguard our territorial integrity and our unadulterated understanding of and appreciation for our sovereignty,” Pitts said.
In a separate pre-recorded video, Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno said that his country cherishes “the special bond between the government and people of Belize and Taiwan,” and looks forward to continued cooperation with friendly nations and allies around the world.
“Even as we continue to deal with our economic, health and other social shocks, we remain committed here in Belize and Taiwan to our core belief in the betterment of our people and in a world truly fit for humanity,” Briceno said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it