Taiwan still wants the US to approve further weapons sales despite a marked thaw in tensions between Taipei and Beijing, Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said on Friday in Washington.
Chiang said on a visit to Washington that national security remained paramount for Taiwan and “for its democracy.”
“In order to have a credible deterrence to prevent any future miscalculation, it is reasonable and necessary for Taiwan to continue to have those armaments that we cannot manufacture ourselves,” he told reporters.
Chiang said that Taiwan still had a standing request for weapons, including F-16 fighter jets. The US in January approved a US$6.4 billion package, including helicopters, anti-missile defenses and mine-sweepers.
China protested the sale.
Despite the signing of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) on June 29 that marks closer trade and cooperation between the two sides, Chiang said it was too early for Beijing and Taipei to engage in formal talks on a long-term political settlement.
“We don’t think ... that our mutual understanding and mutual trust is mature enough to talk about those sovereignty issues,” Chiang said.
Critics of the ECFA fear that the agreement will jeopardize Taiwan’s de facto independence and may eventually turn it into a Chinese territory along the lines of Hong Kong and Macau.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, Chiang said that any future free-trade agreements Taiwan wants to sign with its trading partners should be solely up to the two parties concerned.
“It is hard to deny that Beijing won’t have any political influence,” he said when asked if China could interfere in such deals, but “no matter what, a free-trade deal is still a matter that should be decided between Taiwan and its trading partner. They have the final say.”
On concerns that the tariff-reducing measures in the deal could have a negative impact on some industries, Chiang said that vulnerable industries, such as agricultural products, were excluded from the measures. He added that the agreement does not permit laborers from China to work in Taiwan.
Chiang arrived in Washington on Thursday after visiting New York last week to speak with US think tanks and media outlets about the ECFA. During his visit to Washington, Chiang will meet representatives of the Brookings Institution and media outlets.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
RESTRICTIONS: All food items imported from the five prefectures must be accompanied by radiation and origin certificates, and undergo batch-by-batch inspection The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday announced that almost all produce from five Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster would now be allowed into Taiwan. The five are Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The only items that would still be blocked from being imported into the nation are those that are still banned from being circulated in Japan, the FDA added. With the removal of the ban, items including mushrooms, the meat of wild birds and other wild animals, and koshiabura” (foraged vegetables) would now be permitted to enter Taiwan, along with the other
A new tropical storm is expected to form by early tomorrow morning, potentially developing into a medium-strength typhoon that is to affect Taiwan through Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration said today. There are currently two tropical systems circulating to the east of Taiwan, agency forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. The one currently north of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Gebi this afternoon and is expected to veer toward Japan without affecting Taiwan, Hsu said. Another tropical depression is 600km from the east coast and is likely to develp into the named storm Krathon either late tonight or early tomorrow, he said. This
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although