President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday called for calm following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, saying it was not expected to have a strong impact on Taiwan’s diplomacy or defenses in the short term.
Ma’s remarks followed an announcement by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) that the ministry had formed an emergency task force to cope with any developments on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of Kim’s death.
The ministry created task forces within its Taipei headquarters and its representative office in South Korea, ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said.
“We are also keeping in contact with Taiwanese living in both South and North Korea to ensure their personal safety,” Chang added.
The ministry will continue to monitor developments in the North and the possible impact Kim’s death might have on the East Asian region, Chang said.
Ma said during a press conference at his re-election campaign office that the National Security Council had invited defense, foreign, security, economic and Mainland Affairs Council officials to a brainstorming session to discuss the possible impact of Kim’s death.
“The council will brief me on the conclusion of the meeting later in the day,” Ma said.
Ma said the public should remain calm because the nation’s economic fundamentals remain sound.
On reports that South Korea’s military has been on emergency alert since news of Kim’s demise emerged and that Japan’s Cabinet held an emergency meeting yesterday morning, Ma said those two countries were very close to North Korea.
“While Taiwan is located a bit farther from North Korea than either South Korea or Japan, we attach great importance to the possible impact of Kim’s death and will carefully deal with all relevant issues,” Ma said.
Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said Ma was scheduled to call a news conference later in the day to brief the public on the government’s response measures.
Meanwhile, Ministry of National Defense spokesman David Lo (羅紹和) said the ministry was also closely watching developments on the Korean Peninsula.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
RSS