The US is “confident” that Taiwan does not face an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk told a US public radio show, adding that Washington remains committed to defensively arming the nation.
She made the comment during an interview on All Things Considered, broadcast on Friday on US-based National Public Radio.
“There is an important distinction between making plans and training troops, and getting ready to do something,” Oudkirk said, on whether she thinks Beijing plans to attack Taiwan in the near future.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Chinese officials have told Washington that “their preference is for peaceful reunification, and the United States is confident that there is no imminent threat of invasion for Taiwan,” she added.
Last month, US President Joe Biden met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco, where they discussed the security situation in the Taiwan Strait.
The White House said that Biden called on China to exercise restraint regarding military activity in and around Taiwan, while Reuters reported that Xi demanded that the US stop sending weapons to Taiwan and support Beijing’s plans to annex it.
On whether Washington would halt weapons sales to Taipei at Xi’s request, Oudkirk said that selling Taiwan defensive weapons is part of the US’ long-standing “one China” policy, which has bipartisan support among US lawmakers and remains unchanged.
“Part of that approach to Taiwan is the agreement that the United States will sell defensive weapons to Taiwan, sort of linked to the level of threat that Taiwan faces,” she said. “So that’s a commitment that the United States has made, and that isn’t going to change.”
A recent survey titled, “American Portrait,” conducted by Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, showed that only 34 percent of Taiwanese believe the US is a trustworthy country, a drop of 11 percentage points from 2011.
Regarding how the US can counter disinformation and false claims spread online about the US, and people in Taiwan who say that Washington is an unreliable partner, Oudkirk said that the US should be talking more.
“The way to push back against disinformation and sort of deliberate information manipulation is to talk and to engage and to be approachable, and also to work on things like media literacy,” she said.
Taiwan last night blanked world No. 1 Japan 4-0 to win the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time. Taiwanese ace Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) held defending champions Japan to just one hit and no runs in the first four innings, before catcher Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) opened the fifth inning with a solo home run. That was soon followed by a three-run homer from Taiwanese captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) to put Taiwan ahead in the prestigious tournament of the world’s top 12 baseball teams. In addition to a superb performance from 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Lin, three more Taiwanese pitchers
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said she would tender her resignation following criticism of her handling of alleged bullying by Ministry of Labor Workforce Development Agency branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) resulting in the death of an employee. The ministry yesterday gave Hsieh two demerits and said she is subject to review by the Disciplinary Court. The severest possible punishment would be her removal from office and being barred from government jobs indefinitely. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) also received a major demerit and was transferred to another position. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) issued a formal apology
RSS