Senior US defense and diplomatic officials will not attend this year’s Taiwan-US Defense Industry Conference, organizers said on Sunday, an unexpected absence that has given rise to speculation about the reason why, ranging from a dispute over aggressive efforts to secure the sale of F-16 aircraft to Taiwan’s role in the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) dispute.
The annual event, organized by the US-Taiwan Business Council, is a forum to address future US defense cooperation with Taiwan as well as Taiwan’s defense and national security needs and arms procurement plans.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang (楊念祖) is heading the Taiwanese delegation at this year’s conference, which opened on Sunday in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
US-Taiwan Business Council chairman Paul Wolfowitz is hosting the conference, which ends today.
In the past, the US has sent assistant secretary-level officials from the US Departments of State and Defense to attend the conference and deliver keynote speeches.
US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers said on Sunday that US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Mark Lippert had originally planned to attend the annual meeting.
However, the council was informed on Friday that Lippert could not attend because of “scheduling issues,” Hammond-Chambers said, adding that the council also received a similar notice from the State Department the same day.
Sources say the information was also relayed to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).
The council said it had not received confirmation from Department of State Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell on whether he would attend.
When the conference opened on Sunday, the absence of both officials was noticed, given that since 2002 the deputy secretaries of the Department of State and the Department of Defense usually represented the US government at the conference.
They were the ones who explained US policy to the representatives, academics and members from the national defense industry from both the US and Taiwan, the council said.
It also marked the first time since 2002 that a senior official from the State Department did not attend the conference.
According to the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), the absence of US senior officials was the result of Washington’s displeasure with the President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration’s policy on the Diaoyutais.
However, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said the absence had nothing to do with Taiwan’s recent handling of its territorial dispute with Japan.
Sources said the State Department would explain why it chose not send a senior official to attend the conference when the time was right.
Meanwhile, TECRO attributed the senior officials’ absence to a campaign by the US-Taiwan Business Council to persuade US Senators and representatives to support sales of F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan, which Taipei has requested on several occasions since 2006.
The council asked members of Congress and the Senate to write a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the matter, with US Senator John Cornyn pressuring US President Barack Obama’s administration to make a clear stance on the sale of F-16C/Ds by holding up the nomination of Lippert for the job of US assistant secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs.
Though the Obama administration finally announced its stance on the arms sale at last year’s Taiwan Defense Industry Conference — stating that it would not sell the F-16C/D, but would offer an upgrade package for Taiwan’s existing fleet of F-16A/Bs — Cornyn and others have not ceased pressuring the Obama administration on the issue.
The overtly active pressure may have annoyed the administrative department, TECRO officials said, adding that whether the absence of senior US officials at this year’s conference would lead to the discontinuation of the 10 year-old conference remained to be seen.
The US has never expressed dissatisfaction with Taipei’s policy regarding the Diaoyutai Islands, the TECRO officials said, adding that senior US officials were still willing to meet Yang in Washington after he attended the conference.
US-Taiwan relations have not changed, they said, adding that the incident nevertheless highlighted the conflicting views of the Ma administration and the business council on the F-16C/D issue.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS