Taiwan is most likely to be limited to observer status if the US invites it to the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises this year, a report published on Wednesday by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research said.
Speculation has been rife over Taiwan’s participation since US President Joe Biden signed the fiscal 2022 US National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a “Sense of Congress” resolution recommending that Taiwan be involved in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise this year.
However, “Sense of Congress” resolutions are not legally binding, and the Biden administration has not said that Taiwan would for the first time be invited to the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.
Photo: Reuters
In the think tank report, resident research officer Liu Ying-chieh (劉穎傑) said that Taiwan’s participation in RIMPAC would most likely be limited to sending observers.
Washington’s “one China” policy would prevent it from inviting Taiwan to join in the war games, send small units or coordinate with other participants in real time from a different location, Liu said.
The sensitive nature of such types of participation would likely spark protest from Beijing, as the US’ “one China” policy acknowledges that the People’s Republic of China represents China and Taiwan’s status has yet to be settled, Liu added.
However, even sending observers would benefit Taiwan, as it could learn about warfare concepts, weapons platforms, coordinated operations and multinational coalitions, Liu said.
Understanding the preparations needed to participate in an international joint military exercise is extremely important, Liu added.
The option of sending Ministry of National Defense observers to board warships and gain an understanding of the exercise process and content would help the military design battlefield scenarios for its Han Kuang military exercises, he said.
If Taiwan’s role went beyond observing, such as sending small units or coordinating from a different location, the military could focus on the division and integration of tasks, coordination between the units and the effective execution of orders, he said.
Participating in the exercises would give Taiwan’s military leaders the opportunity to see how they make decisions under pressure and reveal their blind spots, he said.
RIMPAC, hosted every two years near Hawaii by the US Pacific Fleet, has never invited Taiwan to participate.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS