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.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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