The US has frozen arms sales to Taiwan until the end of the Beijing Olympics and possibly until US President George W. Bush leaves office, the latest edition of Defense News said.
The periodical reported on Monday that the US State Department had elected to freeze all congressional notifications — an essential process prior to approval — for weapons sales to Taiwan.
The sales would amount to some US$12 billion for the acquisition of 30 Apache Longbow attack helicopters, 60 Black Hawk helicopters, eight diesel electric submarines, four PAC-3 air defense missile batteries and 66 F-16 fighter aircraft.
Twelve Orion maritime patrol aircraft were not subject to the freeze because they had already been approved for delivery, the periodical said.
Sources told Defense News that the unprecedented move came at the behest of Beijing-friendly officials at the US State Department and officials at the US embassy in Beijing, who believe that Washington should “placate China.” The purpose was to smooth the way for talks between China and Taiwan and for Bush to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games, they said.
The periodical quoted Mark Stokes, executive director of the Project 2049 Institute think tank and former country director for China and Taiwan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as saying the freeze contravened the Taiwan Relations Act, a piece of legislation supporting Taiwan’s security that came into effect when Washington recognized Beijing 30 years ago.
The Defense News sources disagreed on when the freeze would be lifted, but there were reported to be fears in Taiwanese circles that the move could become permanent after the inauguration of the new US president amid warming ties between Taiwan’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government and Beijing.
Yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense told the Taipei Times that “everything is under control.”
“I have no comment on the story, but I can assure you that our regular communication and cooperation with the US remain intact,” ministry spokeswoman Colonel Lisa Chi (池玉蘭) said.
But a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman expressed concerns over the report.
“If that happens, then I think the KMT should take all responsibility,” DPP legislative caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said.
Lai said that all the weapons on the list were items that the previous DPP government had sought to purchase from the US for a long time.
He said much of the procurement process had been delayed because of the KMT’s boycott in the legislature’s National Defense Committee, now known as the Diplomacy and National Defense Committee.
“Ever since Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) entered the Presidential Office, the KMT has been pushing the country in China’s favor. It does not surprise me that the US has come up with this decision at this time,” Lai said.
Diplomacy and National Defense Committee member and KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said he was not concerned by the development.
He said any freeze would bring a degree of relief to cross-strait ties and that the US wanted to see a harmonious relationship develop between China and Taiwan.
Lin, however, said he believed the US would sell the weapons to Taiwan in the end anyway.
KMT legislative caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) had no comment on the matter when approached by the Taipei Times.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
RSS