President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of September 30 with US House of Representatives Member Hank Johnson, who is on the House Armed Services Committee. During their meeting, the president again urged the United States to sell Taiwan F-16C/D fighter jets to bolster the ROC's ability to defend itself and maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait.
The president remarked that the United States recently approved a plan to upgrade Taiwan's current fleet of F-16A/B fighter jets. This proves that the United States does place importance on Taiwan's security, he said, adding that it also reflects the high-level trust between the two countries. Over the past three years and four months, the president noted, the United States has approved three packages of arms sales to Taiwan amounting to a total of US$18.3 billion. President Ma said that he has presided over the greatest amount of arms sales by the United States to Taiwan of any ROC president. Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has approved the sale of two packages of arms to Taiwan during his presidency so far, making this the most of any US president in recent years. This also highlights the progress in military cooperation between the two sides, he stated.
President Ma commented that the upgrades of the F-16A/B series aircraft are aimed at extending the life of the fighter jets and avoiding a lack of spare parts due to the age of the F-16A/B series. Meanwhile, the ROC wishes to purchase F-16C/D fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of F5-E fighter jets. Therefore, the objectives of the two are different, he explained. President Ma said he is pleased by the US administration's indication that it is still carefully considering Taiwan's request to purchase F-16C/D fighters, but also stressed that the goal of military cooperation between the two countries is not to increase the offensive capability of Taiwan, but rather to boost the nation's ability to defend itself and to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait. The president assured that Taiwan will continue to push for rapprochement with mainland China. However, "one must rely on strength to maintain peace," he said. Consequently, Taiwan hopes that the United States will agree to sell its F-16C/D fighter jets and diesel-electric submarines in order to help Taiwan maintain its military preparedness.
In addressing Taiwan-US relations and developments on other fronts, the president stated that Taiwan is expected to become a candidate for the US Visa Waiver Program this year, which would help to advance bilateral relations. In addition, he called for a resumption of negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement as soon as possible in order to facilitate greater bilateral trade.
Representative Johnson was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Foreign Minister Lyushun Shen (沈呂巡) and American Institute in Taiwan Acting Deputy Director Julie Kavanagh to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu (劉志攻).
【Source: Office of the President】