Senior US lawmaker says doing everything possible to speed up Taiwan
arms deliveries
Send a link to a friend
[April 07, 2023]
TAIPEI (Reuters) - A senior U.S. lawmaker said on Friday
he was doing everything possible to speed up the delivery of weapons to
Taiwan, suggesting other countries that have the arms could sell them
onto the island with U.S. government permission.
Taiwan has since last year complained of delays to U.S. weapons
deliveries, such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers
turn supplies to Ukraine to support its defence against Russia.
Speaking to reporters on a trip to Taiwan, Michael McCaul, chairman of
the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Taiwan needed to be able
to access weapons given the threat it faces from China, which claims the
democratically governed island as its own territory.
"On the weapons issue, I sign off on those deliveries and we are doing
everything in our power to expedite this," he said, speaking at Taiwan's
parliament where he met its speaker, You Si-kun.
There is a need to "harden" Taiwan and help its deterrence capability,
he added.
McCaul said ideas for getting the arms to Taiwan faster included
reprioritising weapons sales given the island is in a high threat area
and "third party sales" - getting the U.S. government to allow other
countries that have these weapons to provide them to Taiwan.
"We want to do everything possible to deter a very aggressive nation,
Communist China, from ever thinking about landing on the shores of this
beautiful island, because that would be a serious mistake for
everybody."
The United States is Taiwan's most important arms supplier, a constant
source of Chinese anger with Washington.
[to top of second column]
|
Michael McCaul, Chairman of the U.S.
House Foreign Affairs Committee, who is leading a delegation of US
lawmakers visiting Taiwan, and Taiwan's Parliament Speaker You
Si-kun, shake hands during a news conference at the parliament in
Taipei, Taiwan April 7, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
McCaul, a Republican, is being accompanied by seven other lawmakers
on a bipartisan trip taking place the same week Taiwan President
Tsai Ing-wen met U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles,
which Beijing condemned.
While China staged war games around Taiwan in August after
then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei its reaction this time has
been more muted.
Speaking at the same news conference, You said he had invited
McCarthy last year to visit Taiwan before he became speaker, and You
said he thought it was just a timing issue as to when McCarthy
visited.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its
control, and has stepped up military and political pressure to try
and force Taipei to accept Beijing's sovereignty.
You said Russian President Vladimir Putin's inability to quickly
capture Ukraine served as a lesson to China's leader Xi Jinping,
likening Putin's view of Ukraine as a "delicious meal" that had
turned into a fishbone stuck in his throat.
"So I believe this is a warning for Xi Jinping as well," You said.
McCaul's group will meet Tsai, who arrives back in Taiwan late
Friday, on Saturday.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|