Taiwan hails military ‘cooperation’ with US National Guard
Taiwan’s president said Tuesday that the United States is planning on building “cooperation” between the US National Guard and her country’s military to strengthen security ties in the face of stepped-up pressure from China.
President Tsai Ing-wen made the comments during a meeting in Taipei with Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), one of the main sponsors of the Taiwan Partnership Act, which has attracted bipartisan support in Congress but has not yet become law.
“The US Department of Defense is now proactively planning cooperation between the US National Guard and Taiwan’s defense forces,” Tsai said, without elaborating.
Duckworth, a former Army helicopter pilot and a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, said she wanted to “emphasize our support for Taiwan security.”
“I do want to say that it is more than just about military. It’s also about the economy,” Duckworth told Taiwan’s president.
China, which considers self-ruled Taiwan part of its territory, has increased its military presence in the region. On Monday, 30 Chinese aircraft breached the island’s air defense identification zone — part of a continuing campaign of intimidation Beijing has been conducting since January.
Taiwan responded to the incursion by scrambling fighter jets, putting air defense systems on alert and issuing radio warnings.
During Duckworth’s visit, Tsai thanked the US government “for the importance they place on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” and the senator for “keeping a close watch on Taiwan-related security issues.”
China slammed Duckworth’s visit to the island.
“Taiwan is a province of China, and there is no so-called president,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, adding that the US should cut off all formal contacts with the Taipei government.
“The US government has recently sent a series of erroneous signals on the Taiwan issue,” he said. “What the US government should do is to put into practice President Biden’s remarks that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China, does not aim to change China’s system … and does not support Taiwan independence.”
Biden angered Beijing during a visit to South Korea and Japan last week when he said the US would respond militarily if China invades Taiwan.
He then insisted that the US policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan has not changed.
Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the US is not required to defend Taiwan militarily, but it must ensure the island nation has the resources to defend itself.
Amid the increased tensions, the US and China are in talks to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe at a security conference planned for June in Singapore, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
With Post wires
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