U.S. urged to sell F-16 fighters to Taiwan ASAP
ROC Central News Agency
2007-09-10 16:28:09
Annapolis, Md., Sept. 9 (CNA) The president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council urged the Bush administration Sunday to approve the sale of F-16 C/D jet fighters to Taiwan as soon as possible.
Rupert Hammond-Chambers said at a news conference marking the opening of the Sixth U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference that given the profound impact that this matter is having on U.S.-Taiwan ties and even on U.S.-Taiwan-China relations, the U.S. government should approve the deal at the earliest possible date.
Hammond-Chambers urged the Bush administration not to link the fighter sale with the Taiwan government's push to hold a referendum on the country applying to join the United Nations under the name Taiwan, saying that politics should not affect military cooperation between the two countries.
He warned that if the planned fighter sale is postponed due to political issues, this will set an unwelcome precedent, adding that the United States will be seen as becoming increasingly vulnerable to Beijing's influence.
Hammond-Chambers also expressed the council's concern about the fact that U.S.-Taiwan bilateral relations have sunk to a new low recently, saying that the tense relationship between President Chen Shui-bian and the Bush administration will certainly be discussed at the annual meeting as nobody wants to see it have an adverse impact on U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation.
Also speaking at the news conference, Republic of China Deputy Defense Minister Ko Cheng-heng said that Taiwan keenly hopes that the United States will continue to strengthen its military industrial cooperation with Taiwan so as to help the island beef up its defensive capabilities.
Ko expressed the hope that the U.S. defense industry will allow more of the weapons systems and parts and components that the United States sells to Taiwan to be produced or assembled in Taiwan and that relevant technology transfers to Taiwan will also be increased.
By doing so, Ko said, this will also allow the Ministry of National Defense to persuade Taiwan legislators to pass a long-stalled bill regarding arms purchases from the United States.
Ko also said that he does not see the current troubles in the U.S.-Taiwan relationship having an adverse impact on the U.S. administration's position on military sales to Taiwan.
The annual U.S.-Taiwan defense industry conference will feature two days of closed-door meetings to be held Monday and Tuesday at the Westin Annapolis Hotel with the participation of a Taiwan delegation led by Ko and a U.S. delegation of members of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council and representatives of the U.S. defense industry.
Ko himself, along with David Sedney, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, and Thomas Christensen, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, are expected to deliver speeches during the conference.
The conference, the sixth of its kind, is being organized by the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, a private U.S. association dedicated to promoting trade, economic and financial relations between Taiwan and the United States in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
According to Hammond-Chambers, the conference will focus on the prospects of the modernization of Taiwan's military, the challenges that Taiwan's national defense and security face, as well as military cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and the United States.
Hammond-Chambers said that the three officials invited to address the conference are all expected to share first-hand information with the participants, who will include lawmakers from Taiwan, experts from think-tanks and representatives from the defense industry.
He expressed welcome particularly to legislators serving on the Executive Yuan's Defense Committee, saying that their presence at the conference will represent a meaningful step forward in efforts to build consensus among Taiwan lawmakers on national defense policy and the development of Taiwan's defense industry.
(By Chiehyu Lin and Deborah Kuo)
ENDITEM/Li
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