Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) yesterday said that he was “cautiously optimistic” about arms sales from the US after US President Donald Trump said he was still considering whether to go ahead with new sales to Taiwan.
Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week, at which Taiwan was a point of focus, has caused concern in Taipei about the US’ commitment to helping it defend itself, especially as China ramps up its military activities.
Taiwan’s role as the world’s main producer of advanced semiconductors means any conflict would cause major disruptions to the global economy.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with weapons and in December last year the Trump administration approved a US$11 billion arms package, the largest ever. A second package worth US$14 billion has yet to be formally approved.
Speaking to reporters at the Legislative Yuan, Koo said the US has repeatedly said its policy toward Taiwan has not changed.
“For a long time, the United States has maintained peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait region through arms sales channels. This was established under the Taiwan Relations Act,” he said, referring to the 1979 law that mandates arms sales.
Weapons sales are an important “counterbalancing force” for maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Koo said.
“It is clear that the side repeatedly provoking, creating incidents, and undermining the peaceful and stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait is China, not our country,” he added. “Therefore, under these circumstances, we believe that maintaining this arms-sales channel is in line with US interests.”
Taiwan is continuing to talk to the US about arms sales and “at present, we remain cautiously optimistic,” he said.
Separately yesterday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that China is the greatest source of regional unease and instability due to its ongoing military activities as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy announced it had sent a carrier task force into the western Pacific for training.
Cho expressed concern about what China was up to.
“The People’s Republic of China continues to conduct military exercises of various scales and types in the Taiwan Strait region, the Indo-Pacific region, the South China Sea and even around Japan, affecting navigational safety,” he said.
“This is the greatest source of regional unease and instability,” he added.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cho’s comments.
China’s armed forces operate almost daily around Taiwan, and yesterday its navy said that a carrier task group, led by the Liaoning, had been sent to the “relevant waters” of the western Pacific, although it did not give an exact location.
The ships will carry out live firing and other drills to “test and enhance the realistic combat training capabilities of the forces,” it said in a statement. “This is a routine training organized in accordance with the annual plan, which aims to enhance the military’s capability to fulfil its missions, and is fully in compliance with international law and practice.”
Cho reiterated that the Republic of China, Taiwan is a “sovereign and independent country,” and again called for talks.
“We still hope for healthy and orderly exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and for dialogue based on equality and dignity. This has been our consistent principle,” he said.
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