The US government has told Taiwan that if the legislature fails to pass the NT$480 billion (US$15.25 billion) US arms procurement bill that includes 12 P-3C maritime patrol aircraft before the end of the month, the US will sell the aircraft to other countries, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) said yesterday.
"The 12 P-3C aircraft are finished products which the US could sell to other countries at any time. The US government has said it will not wait on Taiwan indefinitely," Lee said.
Regarding the eight diesel-powered submarines that are also part of the arms bill, Lee said that the US wanted Taiwan to give it an answer by the end of this month on whether they will be purchased.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) asked Lee: "If Taiwan fails to pass the special arms bill before the end of the legislative session this month, do you see the possibility that the US government will withdraw its commitment to sell Taiwan eight submarines?"
Lee answered in the affirmative.
He said the US government did not officially tell the defense ministry it would withdraw its offer of submarines to Taiwan. But US government and think tank officials have privately expressed concern that Washington might withdraw its commitment to sell Taiwan the submarines if the bill continues to be delayed, he added.
"If the country is unable to approve the special arms bill and also suffers from a shortfall in its annual defense budgets, the ministry will not be able to effectively protect the country from China's military force by around 2012," Lee said.
With the current legislative session set to conclude by the end of the month, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus whip Chen Chieh (
Lee said that while the ministry has proposed a NT$480 billion special arms budget, the ministry would at this point accept a smaller budget of between NT$350 billion to NT$380 billion.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS