France has offered Taiwan military equipment maintenance services, but it cannot reveal details, French Senator Alain Richard said in Taipei yesterday.
A delegation led by the senior senator, who is also a former defense minister, arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday and is scheduled to leave tomorrow night. Other delegation members include French senators Max Brisson, Else Joseph and Olivier Cadic.
The delegation on Wednesday visited the Hsinchu Air Base to see French-made Mirage 2000 jets stationed there, before meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told the Taipei Times.
Photo: Reuters
Richard and other delegation members did not comment on the air base visit when asked about it, nor did the air force.
The Ministry of National Defense last month said it signed a technical support agreement with Mirage jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation. The NT$796.9 million (US$28.41 million) deal, which is to last until Sept. 13, 2026, would aid the air force’s operation of Mirage 2000-5 fighters, local media reported.
France has offered maintenance services for aviation and navigation equipment purchased from the country over the past two years, but it cannot yet share the details, Richard said.
Although China often casts itself as a stabilizing force, its increased activity near Taiwan has alarmed many countries and underscored the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, he said.
Asked if he fears retaliation from Beijing for visiting Taiwan, Richard said the trip does not contradict French diplomatic policy or relations with China.
He said that Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (盧沙野) in February wrote a letter asking him to cancel the trip, warning that it might have a negative impact on France-China relations.
He said he told Lu that the visit was not counter to French foreign policy.
The delegation was not “pressured” by Beijing, as some media have claimed; it just has different views from China, he said.
Richard also said that Taiwan signing a bilateral investment agreement with the EU was possible.
The delegation was invited to the opening of the Shawan History and Culture Park (沙灣歷史文化園區) in Keelung today.
The park contains some heritage from the Sino-French War in 1884, during which Keelung was a battlefield, the Keelung City Government said.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
RSS