The US would continue to provide defense articles to Taiwan as per its “one China” policy, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday, adding that such an approach has helped foster decades of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Sullivan told a news conference in Beijing that the US arms sales to Taiwan have been consistent with the US’ “one China” policy, an approach which has “remained true on a bipartisan basis” across multiple US administrations, he said.
The policy “has actually helped contribute to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for decades, and we intend to keep it that way,” said Sullivan, who was visiting China this week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and other senior Chinese officials.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Our ‘one China’ policy has not changed, and our approach to this issue is guided by the ‘one China’ policy, the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques and the six assurances,” he said.
Sullivan’s comments came shortly after Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) raised the issue of arms sales in their two-day talks, a transcription issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday showed.
Wang was cited as urging Washington to cease arms sales to Taipei and said that efforts to push for Taiwanese independence posed “the greatest risk to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Since US President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the US has announced 15 arms sales to Taiwan times, most recently in June involving US$60.2 million worth of uncrewed aerial vehicles and related equipment.
The talks between Sullivan and Chinese leaders were part of efforts by the US and Chinese governments to maintain channels of communication and manage their relations, the White House said.
The US-China relationship remains “competitive” and both sides would have to work to “manage the risks and flashpoints,” Sullivan said, referring in particular to strained cross-strait relations and tensions in the South China Sea.
Sullivan said he had stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and reaffirmed the US’ commitment to its allies in the Indo-Pacific in all his meetings with Chinese leaders.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS