US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated that the US government’s long-standing security commitment to Taiwan is based on the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday following concerns over Washington’s policy shift toward Ukraine and its possible implications for Taiwan.
The ministry’s North American Affairs Department Director-General Wang Liang-yu (王良玉) made the remark in response to media queries at the ministry’s weekly news conference.
“The US government, from administration to administration, has consistently reiterated its security commitment to Taiwan based on the Taiwan Relation Act and the six assurances,” Wang said.
Photo: Screen grab from a Ministry of Foreign Affairs livestream
The US’ long-standing position toward Taiwan has also been reiterated by Rubio, she added.
Rubio, in an interview on Thursday last week, reaffirmed Washington’s opposition to any forced change to the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait and said that the US remains committed to its long-standing policies on Taiwan.
Since US President Donald Trump took office, his administration has — through the joint statements of a US-Japan meeting and a US-Japan-South Korea foreign ministers’ meeting — emphasized “the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community,” Wang said.
They have also expressed “opposition to any attempts to unilaterally force or coerce changes to the status quo,” as well as their “support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations,” she said.
The ministry and government agencies would continue to promote Taiwan-US relations and demonstrate Taiwan’s self-defense determination, as well as strengthen the nation’s self-defense capability to achieve the goal of “peace through strength,” she said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
RSS