Any unprovoked attack on Taiwan would result in a “resolute reaction” from Washington, US Representative Rob Wittman said during a visit to Taipei yesterday, adding that the US is working on expediting arms sales to the nation.
Wittman, a Republican who serves as vice chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office that the US would do “everything possible” to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, and that it was committed to building and projecting the strength of the region.
“Strength is the best deterrence to anyone that may think there’s an opportunity to act badly in this region,” said Wittman, who arrived in Taiwan on Thursday.
Photo: CNA
“Any hostile, unprovoked attack on Taiwan will result in a resolute reaction from the United States,” he said, while acknowledging Taiwan’s efforts to enhance its self-defense capabilities, such as extending compulsory military service to one year.
The US has “an obligation” to ensure that it addresses the US$19 billion backlog of arms deliveries to Taiwan, which cross-party members of the House have been working on, he said.
Wittman said he believed that the “deep and long-term relationship” between the US and Taiwan would continue to grow stronger, as it is based on shared values of democracy, the rule of law, and technological and economic development.
The ties have earned bipartisan support in the US Congress, he said, calling on both sides to pursue closer economic cooperation through mutual investment.
Tsai thanked Wittman and other delegation members for their support and attention to Taiwan’s security through concrete actions such as promoting pro-Taiwan legislation in the US Congress every year.
They helped ensure that the National Defense Authorization Act continues to include policy initiatives that bolster Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities and deepen Taiwan-US security cooperation, Tsai said.
In the face of authoritarian expansionism, the unity and cooperation of democratic partners is even more important, she said.
Taiwan will continue to work with the US and other democratic allies to protect regional stability and prosperity, she added.
She also thanked the US Congress for passing the first agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, which could deepen economic and trade ties between Taiwan and the US.
The next step toward closer industrial cooperation would be to eliminate double taxation between the two nations, which Tsai hoped US lawmakers would support.
Wittman is visiting Taiwan with two other committee members: US representatives Jen Kiggans and Carlos Gimenez. It is the second visit by senior committee officials following committee Chairman Mike Rogers’ trip in June, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
US representatives Alex Mooney and Michael Cloud are also in Taiwan.
All five lawmakers are members of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and have displayed their firm support for the nation by proposing legislation and issuing statements, Presidential Office spokeswoman Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said.
Additional reporting by AFP
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS