Seeking to join various US-led military drills, including the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), is an area in which Taiwan has wished to further its military cooperation with the US this year, Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said in a written report to the legislature.
In addition to 35 military cooperation projects scheduled to take place this year, up from 18 projects last year, “we will continue to strive for participation in all major military drills led by the US, including RIMPAC,” King said.
He did not elaborate on what the cooperation projects are.
A meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow, where King is to brief lawmakers in the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on the prospects for US-Taiwan relations this year and to take their questions.
In the report, King identified five broad areas of further cooperation between Taiwan and the US — strengthening bilateral relations; highlighting the importance of bilateral economic and trade ties; consolidating the military and security partnership; joining hands in dealing with global affairs and crises; and collaborating in territorial disputes in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
On the security front, King said that US President Barack Obama’s administration has attached high importance to Taiwan’s national security, of which the record-high arms sale of US$12 billion during his presidency is testimony, while Taiwan received more support from the US Congress last year than ever before.
Last year marked the first time that US lawmakers voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the RIMPAC naval exercise, when eight US congressmen signed a bipartisan letter in October requesting that US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel invite Taiwan to take part in this year’s drill, King said.
In November last year, US Senator Dan Coats submitted an amendment stating that Taiwan should be invited to participate at this year’s RIMPAC to help its proficiency in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, he added.
Hosted by the US Navy, RIMPAC, the world’s largest international maritime exercise, is held biennially during June and July in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is designed to foster and sustain the cooperative relationships critical to ensuring safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans, according to the US Navy Web site.
China’s People’s Liberation Army in November last year agreed to participate in RIMPAC for the first time this year, in response to an invitation extended by former US secretary of defense Leon Panetta during a visit to Beijing in 2012.
King also revealed for the first time in the report that Taiwan had stayed in touch with the US since the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, started passing through the Taiwan Strait on Nov. 28, amid tensions over China’s unilateral designation of an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea.
Taiwan and the US monitored the Liaoning’s course closely, King said.
King’s statement somewhat contradicted a report on Nov. 29 by the Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, saying that Taiwan turned down requests by the US and Japan to conduct surveillance of the carrier in relay.
According to a report by the Taipei Times on Nov. 7, US Admiral Samuel Locklear III, the Commander of US Pacific Command, did not respond affirmatively when asked at a briefing at the Washington Foreign Press Center about the possibility of the US inviting Taipei to join this year’s RIMPAC.
King added in the report that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US has scheduled conferences and other events in Washington this year to mark the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act to highlight the importance of the law.
Although tensions across the Taiwan Strait have gradually eased, threats of force by China against Taiwan must never be ignored, King said.
If the US can continue to provide Taiwan with weapons, in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, it can not only help Taiwan beef up its self-defense capability and boost confidence in its negotiations with China, but also lay down foundations for stability in cross-strait relations and peace in East Asia, King said.
Taiwan welcomes more US arms sales, including “advanced fighter jets,” and looks forward to consolidating its military and security partnership with the US in the areas of coordination of military strategies, anti-terrorism and cybersecurity, he said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College