Vice Minister of Defense Kang Ning-hsiang (
The visit will mark the first time such a top-level Taiwanese defense official has been allowed to make a direct trip to Washington since the late 1970s, when the US severed relations with Taiwan after recognizing China.
Last March, Defense Minister Tang Yiau-ming (
Kang will arrive in Washington today and stay through Sept. 12, when he will fly to Hawaii, home of the US Pacific Command, the officials said on condition of anonymity, refusing to disclose the envoy's exact itinerary.
He will remain in Hawaii though Sept. 14.
The Pentagon refused to disclose who in the department will meet with Kang, but reports have speculated that he will be received here by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
"We meet from time to time with Taiwan representatives, including representatives of the ministry of defense," one of the officials said.
Kang, who was appointed to his post early this year, does not have a military background and is seen as a possible future candidate for the department's top job.
But he is known as an expert in military matters, who has close contacts with the Taiwanese brass.
The Taipei Times reported last June that the purpose of Kang's then-proposed US trip was "to establish a project management system for the weaponry that the US had agreed to sell to Taiwan."
The US Department of Defense declined any comment. But it notified Congress Wednesday that Taiwan was seeking to buy from the US dozens of amphibious assault vehicles, 182 AIM-9M-1/2 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 449 AGM-114M3 Hellfire II air-to-ground missiles for its AH-1W Super Cobra and OH-58D helicopters.
The US is also considering delivering to Taiwan 120 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), which have earned high praise from US pilots after the conflicts in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo.
The missiles have been purchased by Taipei, but US policy requires that they not be released unless there is evidence that China has similar missiles as part of its operational inventory.
A Pentagon report on China's military power, made public in July, concluded that one of the goals of the country's efforts to modernize its armed forces is to make possible a forcible unification with Taiwan.
"Preparing for a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait is the primary driver for China's military modernization," the report said.
In response to the Pentagon's announcement, China yesterday warned the US against allowing Kang to visit.
"If the United States allows Kang Ning-hsiang to visit ... it will be a gross interference in China's internal affairs," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan (孔泉) said, according to the Xinhua news agency.
Kong said that a visit by Kang would send "the wrong kind of signal" to those in Taiwan seeking formal independence from China.
"We have consistently opposed any exchanges between the United States and Taiwan of an official nature and have made solemn representations to the United States over the report [of Kang's planned visit]," Kong said.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
RSS