Taiwan-US security talks to cover drills, arms salesIMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENTS: A national security official said Washington is expected to focus on equipment upgrades because of the uncertainty of the cross-strait situationBy Su Yung-yao and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerSecurity talks between Taiwan and the US this week are to include discussion of military exercises and arms sales, a senior national security official said yesterday. A delegation led by National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) is to participate in the annual Monterey Talks, considered to be the most important strategic collaboration between the two countries. Photo: ReutersA senior national security official said on condition of anonymity yesterday that Washington is expected to focus on upgrades to existing equipment to enhance immediate combat capabilities as a response to uncertainties in the cross-strait situation. The US considers any Chinese military action in the first island chain to fall within its “weapons engagement zone,” they said. The US Indo-Pacific Command’s engagement is “closer than people think,” with interactions shifting from “transactional” to “collaborative,” the official said.

TSMC to cut payment deadline: reportEXPANSION PLANS: The firm’s chair said massive capital spending is reducing its free cash flow, which in the first quarter declined 22.8% from a quarter earlierBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is reportedly planning to tighten customers’ payment terms next year to better manage its cash flow and fund its capital spending. Such huge capital spending is reducing the chipmaker’s free cash flow, Liu said. In the first quarter, TSMC saw its free cash flow fall 22.85 percent to NT$110.04 billion (US$3.7 billion), compared with NT$142.64 billion a quarter earlier, the firm said in a financial statement. TSMC also told customers that it planned to increase prices on new orders by 10 percent next year, the Liberty Times said. TSMC said in an e-mail to the Taipei Times that it does “not comment on such questions.”

Taiwan should seek regional alliesBy Huynh Tam SangTaiwan has been in the spotlight at the Shangri-La Dialogue this year, with officials and delegates voicing worries over escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Officials from ASEAN nations at the dialogue would take the messages from regional powers seriously. The Ukraine crisis has revealed that the uneasy status quo in the Taiwan Strait is being challenged. Moreover, it should become clear that the vulnerability of Taiwan and potential imminent crisis in the Taiwan Strait is more likely than previously thought. Hence, regional countries could be more willing to support Taiwan in case of uncertainties.

Foxconn chides Chinese rivals for poaching workersBloombergFoxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) is facing a battle of talent in Vietnam as major suppliers to Apple Inc continue to shift some capacity from China to the Southeast Asian country amid prolonged tensions between Beijing and Washington. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said the company’s Chinese rivals in Vietnam have set up operations near its campuses to poach its employees. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Young Liu speaks at an event in Taipei’s Beitou District on Saturday. The key Apple assembly partner employs about 60,000 people in Vietnam, the company’s largest manufacturing base outside of China, Liu said. Foxconn has been making electronics in Vietnam for several years, dating back to before the US trade dispute with China.

Missiles can reach Beijing, legislative speaker warnsNOT DEFENSELESS: Taiwan’s medium-range supersonic land-attack cruise missile offers an added deterrent to a potential cross-strait invasion, the legislative speaker saidBy Chen Yu-fu, Wu Su-wei and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporters, with staff writerChina should think twice about invading Taiwan, as its Yun Feng (雲峰, Cloud Peak) missile could reach Beijing, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said yesterday. He said that when he was the premier he already knew that the Cloud Peak, a medium-range supersonic land-attack cruise missile developed in Taiwan, could reach Beijing. Taiwan is not invading China, but China should take Taiwan’s ability to attack Beijing into consideration before launching an invasion, You said yesterday. Separately, an expert said on Saturday that Taiwan should explore which weapons to use in asymmetric warfare during a potential cross-strait conflict. Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) was responding to media queries about Taiwan’s military cooperation with the US.

Securities house losses sap SinoPac Financial incomeBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterSinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) on Wednesday posted NT$803 million (US$27.14 million) in net income for last month, after its securities house swung into loss and snapped the group’s record of being the only profitable player in Taiwan by measure of year-on-year financial results. As of April, SinoPac Financial was the only financial company with positive earnings growth compared with a year earlier, as unrealized asset losses plagued peers, it said. SinoPac Financial Holdings Co’s headquarters in Taipei is pictured on Aug. 2 last year. Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei TimesThat status came to an end last month after its securities arm, SinoPac Securities Co (永豐金證券), incurred NT$136 million in net losses, although main subsidiary Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行) held strong with NT$1.26 billion in net income. SinoPac Financial would press ahead with downsizing plans that cut its number of affiliated companies from 37 in 2017 to 21 in March this year, it added.

Fuel prices unchanged despite rising oil costsBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices are to remain unchanged this week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday, even though international crude oil prices moved higher. Gasoline prices at CPC stations are to stay at NT$29.5, NT$31.0 and NT$33.0 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the state-run refiner said in a statement. Saudi Arabia’s planned price increases for shipments to Asia and Europe next month, as well as the arrival of the peak holiday driving period in the northern hemisphere, led to increases in international crude oil prices last week, CPC said. Based on CPC’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil last week rose 3.72 percent from a week earlier. The refiner said it should have raised gasoline prices this week by NT$7.6 per liter and diesel prices by NT$9.3 per liter.

Deaths of father and son racers raise this year’s Isle of Man TT toll to fiveReutersThe death toll at this year’s Isle of Man TT motorcycle races rose to five on Friday after organizers said British father and son sidecar riders Roger and Bradley Stockton were killed in a crash. The pair, 56 and 21 respectively, were competing as driver and passenger in the second sidecar race when the incident happened on the final lap at Ago’s Leap. They had finished eighth in the first sidecar race of the event on closed public roads around the island. Organizers initially said passenger Olivier Lavorel had died, but announced on Wednesday they had misidentified the dead man. The event has been run since 1907 and ranks among the most dangerous in motorsport, with 265 deaths to date in the TT races, Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT.

Protesters shot dead at Muslim rally in IndiaAFP, PATNA, IndiaIndian police shot dead two protesters and arrested more than 130 during street rallies sparked by a then-ruling party official’s remarks about the Prophet Mohammed, authorities told reporters yesterday. Protesters burn an effigy depicting former Bharatiya Janata Party spokeswoman Nupur Sharma in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday. Photo: AP“Police were forced to open fire to disperse protesters ... resulting in the death of two,” a Ranchi police officer said. Police in Uttar Pradesh fired tear gas to disperse at least one rally after several demonstrations were staged across the northern state. Sharma’s remarks have embroiled India in a diplomatic storm, with the governments of nearly 20 countries calling in their Indian envoys for an explanation.

Ukraine soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk survive into their ninth year of exileAP, GENEVA, SwitzerlandHosting Champions League games in Poland and planning a humanitarian tour of the US feel like natural next steps for Ukraine’s top soccer team after eight years exiled from their home city by Russian aggression. Shakhtar Donetsk players enter the pitch ahead of a friendly charity soccer match against Olympiakos at Karaiskaki Stadium in Piraeus, Greece, on April 9. “We will play in Champions League group, they will play nothing,” Srna said, referring to Russian clubs. Taking international games to Ukraine is now an unacceptable security risk, so Shakhtar are talking with Legia Warszawa about staging their three Champions League home games. In difficult moments you must help other people.”Akhmetov this week pledged US$2 million to help Ukrainian soccer restart.

Trade gains may last post-pandemicBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaiwan has delivered strong trade growth since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and its rising weight in international trade and supply chains could go beyond the boost spurred by the pandemic, UBS Group AG North Asia economist William Deng (鄧維慎) said on Thursday. Already edging up in mid-2019 before the COVID-19 shock, Taiwan’s international trade share stepped up further in early 2020, which was sustained into this year, he said. Although work-from-home demand is no longer a stimulus this year, and most other exporters have returned to normal operations, Taiwan maintained a large share of international trade. Taiwanese trade held a larger market share in the US in the first quarter than in the same period in 2019, he said. Taiwan’s trade and production chain gains are broad-based, covering technology and non-tech spaces, it said.

Farmers and consumers hit by high pricesDOUBLE WHAMMY: Many farmers globally cannot afford spiking prices in agricultural production, while consumers are already being hit by rising costs of food, a report saidAP, ROMEFood import bills are expected to reach a record high this year, and food markets are likely to tighten globally, a new forecast by a UN food agency said. The outlook discussed how agricultural sectors are struggling with rising costs of production, especially fertilizer and fuel, which could trigger further increases in food prices. Spiking prices for agricultural production inputs, such as rising energy costs, could call into question whether the world’s farmers can afford to buy them, FAO experts in markets and trade wrote. Some North American farmers are shifting from corn to soy, which requires less nitrogen fertilizer, the report noted. All these factors point to “low (and falling) real prices for farmers, despite the high prices faced by consumers,” the FAO said.

Azam’s century powers Pakistan past West IndiesAFP, MULTAN, PakistanPakistan skipper Babar Azam on Wednesday became the first batter to knock three successive one-day international (ODI) hundreds twice as he anchored a five-wicket win over the West Indies in Multan. 1 batter in both limited overs formats, Azam cracked a brilliant 107-ball 103 with nine boundaries to help Pakistan overhaul a tough 306-run target in 49.2 overs. Opener Shai Hope knocked a 134-ball 127 for his 12th ODI century to help the West Indies post an impressive 305-8 — their highest against Pakistan in Pakistan. Pakistan captain Babar Azam, right, celebrates after scoring a century against the West Indies in their first one-day international at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Pakistan on Wednesday. “There was a bit going, and we know Sri Lanka are a difficult team to face at home,” Wade said.

“The proposed sale will contribute to the sustainment of the recipient’s surface-vessel fleet, enhancing its ability to meet current and future threats,” the statement said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the latest deal was the third defense package offered to Taiwan this year and the fourth since Biden took office in January last year. The third, in April, was a US$95 million sale of equipment and services aimed at maintaining Taiwan’s US-made Patriot missile air defense system. The foreign ministry welcomed the latest defense sale, saying it shows that Washington attaches great importance on enhancing Taiwan’s self-defense capability. It also reflects the US’ continued policy of normalizing defense-related sales to Taiwan, it added.

India mulls curbing fridge imports to aid local makersReuters, NEW DELHIIndia is considering restricting imports of refrigerators to promote local manufacturing, two industry sources said yesterday, potentially freezing out shipments from Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc in the US$5 billion market. The move is in line with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” program to boost local manufacturing and discourage imports. That same year it also placed restrictions on television imports, affecting Samsung and other global manufacturers. India imports refrigerators from countries with which it holds a free-trade agreement, including Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. Local manufacturers that could stand to benefit from import restrictions include Voltas, Godrej Appliances and Havells India Ltd.