The Pentagon has confirmed that it did not agree to consult with China about sales of weapons to Taiwan when US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel met with Chinese Minister of Defense General Chang Wanquan (常萬全) in Washington in August.
Following the meeting, Chinese official Guan Youfei (關友飛) announced that Hagel had agreed with Chang’s proposal that the US and the PRC establish a joint task force on the issue of arms sales.
“I believe it is a bad idea for the United States to invite aggressive powers into consultations on the security of America’s treaty allies or partners for whom the US has statutory security commitments,” US Representative Michael McCaul said in a letter to Hagel.
“I ask that you confirm that the US is fully committed to the defense of Taiwan and does not consult with China about sales of weapons to Taiwan, and that you affirm that we don’t have a policy of self-restraint on weapons sales to Taiwan,” McCaul said in the letter.
In a reply released on Friday, US Undersecretary of Defense James Miller said the US government’s approach to Taiwan was founded on the three joint US-China Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
“This approach has been a constant for eight US administrations and will not change,” Miller said.
“As a matter of policy, and consistent with previous assurances we have given to Taiwan, the United States does not consult with China prior to a decision to sell arms to Taiwan, and did not agree to do so when General Chang met with Secretary Hagel,” Miller said in the letter.
Miller said that the administration of US President Barack Obama would continue to make defense articles and services available to Taiwan in such quantity as may be necessary for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.
“The Department of Defense views support to Taiwan as consistent with both the TRA and with US security interests to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia,” Miller said.
Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) President Mark Kao (高龍榮) said he was pleased with the Pentagon’s letter, which showed that the Chinese side had tried to give a “false impression” after the Chang-Hagel meeting.
“As Taiwanese-Americans we are happy to have so many good friends in [the US] Congress who are supportive of Taiwan,” he said.
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but