The US Department of State is declining for the first time to address an annual industry conference on defense and security ties between the US and Taiwan, the event’s organizer said.
US arms sales to Taiwan are a major sore spot with China. Still, the State Department has sent one of its senior officials to speak at the event each year for the past nine years, US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers said in an interview on Tuesday.
“It’s certainly a -disappoint-ment,” he said, although a senior Pentagon official will address the conference.
The State Department has overall responsibility for the US government’s Foreign Military Sales Program, under which billions of US dollars in military hardware and services are sold abroad annually. The US Department of Defense administers the program.
This year marks the 10th in the series of such business council-organized conferences on arms sales and security ties with Taiwan. It takes place in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday and Tuesday.
The State Department had no comment on why it was sitting out the event.
It falls 10 days before the Obama administration is due to make known its policy on Taiwan’s request to buy 66 F-16C/Ds built by Lockheed Martin Corp.
Since 2006, the US has balked at providing the F-16C/D models, potentially valued at more than US$8 billion, apparently for fear of angering Beijing.
The US will be represented by Peter Lavoy, acting assistant -secretary of defense for East Asia and the Pacific. Taiwan’s delegation will be headed by Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang (楊念祖), Hammond-Chambers said.
A spokesman for US Senator John Cornyn, who is spearheading a drive to mandate an F-16 sale to Taiwan if Obama refuses, regretted the State Department’s decision.
“It’s disappointing that, despite past involvement, the State Department does not plan to participate in such a critical forum for US-Taiwan security issues,” said Drew Brandewie, Cornyn’s spokesman.
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
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS