The US State Department on Monday issued a mild rebuke to Premier Yu Shyi-kun for talking about a "balance of terror" with China in the face of military intimidation by Beijing. But the Pentagon reiterated its intention to sell more weapons to Taiwan.
Answering a question about Yu's statement, which he made over the weekend, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said, "We would prefer to see comments that focus on dialogue as opposed to references to the use of force or other unilateral moves."
Yu, in remarks on Saturday in response to a mass rally against the government's US$18 billion arms-purchase plan, said Taiwan should be able to launch a missile counterattack against Shanghai if China fires its missiles at Taiwan.
Such a scenario would "see a `balance of terror' being maintained across the Taiwan Strait so that national security is safeguarded," Yu said. Asked about that at his regular daily press briefing, Ereli repeated his oft-stated comment that the US "opposes moves by either side that would increase tension across the Taiwan Strait."
"And it is our view that the issues relating to the Taiwan Strait should be solved through dialogue and not by unilateral actions by either side," he added.
However, Ereli refused to say whether he thought Yu's remarks increase tensions across the Strait.
The Pentagon, however, reaffirmed its arms-sales commitment to Taiwan.
"The Department of Defense remains fully committed to fulfilling the security and arms sales provision of the Taiwan Relations Act," a department spokesman told the Taipei Times.
"We'll continue to assist Taiwan in meeting its legitimate self defense needs in accordance with our obligations" under the act, he said.
The spokesman had no comment on the arms sales package being sought by President Chen Shui-bian's (
Defense Department officials, including deputy secretary Paul Wolfowitz, reaffirmed the commitment in meetings with a Legislative Yuan delegation to Washington headed by Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The meetings accelerated the pace of the negotiations with the US to reach agreement on the terms of the arms package sale, eliciting criticism from Beijing, intensifying efforts by the Chen government to secure funding for the purchase, and sparking opposition to the package that culminated in the opposition rally last weekend.
In response to Ereli's remarks, Cabinet spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said yesterday that Taiwan would absolutely not provoke China, nor would it launch a first strike.
"Our ultimate defense policy is to prevent war. We have consistently adopted a defensive posture. `Effective deterrence and firm defense' is still our top military buildup goal. Our defensive strategy has not changed," Chen said, adding that Taiwan has spared no effort to defuse cross-strait tension and maintain regional peace.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS