Fourteen US senators have written to US President George W. Bush to express their concerns about reports of a possible freeze on all arms sales to Taiwan.
Noting that the US government is legally bound under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to provide Taiwan with the “defense articles and services that enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” the senators said any freeze on arms sales would violate the spirit of the TRA.
The June 30 letter was signed by Republican James Inhofe and Democrat Tim Johnson, co-chairs of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, and 12 of their colleagues.
The Bush administration is reportedly sitting on congressional notifications related to a number of weapons systems requested by Taiwan, including sea-launched Harpoon missiles, Patriot PAC-3 missile batteries, 30 Apache helicopters and 66 F-16 fighter aircraft.
The senators said they have made attempts to clarify the status of these requests, but to no avail.
“We request a briefing on the status of these sales from all appropriate agencies, and urge the administration to expeditiously execute consideration of these requests,” the senators wrote.
The senators said the military and strategic imperatives for Taiwan are “real and urgent,” adding that according to Pentagon estimates, Beijing’s total defense spending for last year could be as high as US$139 billion —- more than triple the amount publicized by China.
“Taiwan has a right to be ‘secure,’ and that can only be guaranteed by an unambiguous and non-negotiable commitment from the United States to provide Taiwan with weapons systems consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act,” they said.
The Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) — an overseas Taiwanese group — urged the Bush administration on Monday to process the arms sales to Taiwan as soon as possible.
FAPA president Bob Yang (楊英育) said the US should help Taiwan preserve its democracy and freedom, and delaying arms sales would undermine Taiwan’s ability to protect its sovereignty and reduce its bargaining chips in negotiating with China.
Meanwhile, the latest edition of Defense News reports that any attempts by Taipei to get arms sales back up and running could fall afoul of Beijing’s increasingly deft tactics and its growing clout in Washington.
China has become an expert at using excuses to slow sales to Taiwan, the magazine quoted retired US Admiral Dennis Blair, a former commander of the US Pacific Command, as saying.
“Bush is [going] to China for the Olympics, there is an APEC summit here, there is a conference there, and pretty soon they’ll have the whole calendar blocked out,” the magazine cited Blair as saying.
“It’s ‘never a good time’ to approve these arms sales,” he said.
“China’s increasingly skillful charm-offensive tactics has put Taiwan in a difficult position in conducting diplomacy in Washington,” Alexander Huang (黃介正), an associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in the weekly.
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers