Taipei yesterday lauded the US for a newly eneacted defense spending bill, while China panned the legislation, which would boost military assistance for Taiwan.
US President Joe Biden on Friday signed the US$858 billion defense bill into law, authorizing up to US$10 billion in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement for Taiwan.
It also includes about US$45 billion more than Biden had requested, as lawmakers looked to offset inflation and boost the nation’s military competitiveness with China and Russia.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In the Indo-Pacific region, the legislation authorizes increased security cooperation with Taiwan and requires expanded cooperation with India on emerging defense technologies, readiness and logistics.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement thanked the US Congress “for showing the great importance it attaches to Taiwan-US relations and strengthening Taiwan’s security.”
The Ministry of National Defense also thanked Washington for the legislation, saying it showed the importance the US attaches to its ties with Taiwan and bolstering the nation’s security.
Taipei is to discuss the details of the act with Washington and “gradually push forward the budget formulation and actual disbursement of the various Taiwan-friendly provisions,” the defense ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the US defense bill “severely affects peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
“The case ignores the facts to exaggerate a ‘China threat,’ wantonly interferes in China’s internal affairs and attacks and smears the Chinese Communist Party, which are serious political provocations to China,” the statement said.
The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
Taiwan’s military is dwarfed by that of China. Its air force in particular has come under strain from having to scramble repeatedly to see off Chinese incursions near the nation over the past couple of years.
Separately, the defense ministry yesterday reported that 11 Chinese military aircraft and three naval ships had been detected near Taiwan between 6am Friday and 6am yesterday.
Taiwanese fighter jets were deployed to warn the Chinese aircraft, and air defense missiles were deployed to monitor the activities, it added.
China in August staged major military exercises around Taiwan proper, after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS