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US military presence is bringing more media

`It is impossible for Taiwan to open the door to the US military ... and not accept the increased interest of the Western press.'

There is an old saying in Asia, "If you bring in the American dog, you must also accept the Ameri-can flies." It is impossible for Taiwan to open the door to the US military, now a growing presence, and not accept the increased interest of the Western press.

As was the case in Vietnam, Central America during Reagan, and Desert Storm in the Middle East, wherever the US military goes, covertly or overtly, the press follows.

According to an American Institute in Taiwan source, in just one year the number of US military teams visiting Taiwan has gone from two to six teams a week -- and this number is expected to grow as President George W. Bush's tenure lengthens. A team can be anywhere from two to 20 people.

It was during the Clinton administration that the US military relationship with Taiwan began to change. After the dramatic Taiwan missile crisis of 1996, the US reevaluated its relationship with Taipei. The answer was that Taiwan had plenty of hardware, but lacked proper training to operate and maintain the equipment. A policy shift was approved to move from hardware to software.

US military training and advisory teams slowly began arriving, and the US opened the door to US military academies and training facilities. Since 1996 Taiwan has sent men to such diverse US military training bases as Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia and Fort Benning, Georgia and cadets to the academies at West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs.

The recent attempt by the government to silence military and civil employees from talking to the press has gained a lot of media attention. Major Liu Chih-chung (劉致中) received nine years and an official with the Ministry of Transportation and Communication, Lo Chih-hao (駱志豪), got two years, for revealing secrets to the media.

What the government will learn from this experience is that secrets are not always kept very secret. Classified information is regularly leaked to journalists to further a political agenda or personal gripe. Vows are regularly taken to tighten up on the flow of information to the media, but it never works for very long.

Ironically, the media is often supplied information from the very individuals who claim journalists are untrustworthy and misinformed. Military sources can come from anywhere, from a lowly private to generals, who often feel a need to educate journalists about the big picture. In addition, all of the competing services learn what the other is doing from the media. "Information exchange" is the bedrock of all journalism: be used and use.

As the US escalates its military presence in Taiwan, the government should be aware that the US media will only grow more interested in Taiwan. Punishing journalists' sources will not work for very long.

As one US military officer visiting Taiwan jokingly told Jane's: "We're back!"

And if the US military really is back, so will be more foreign correspondents and they will not care about local journalists' fears of enraging the government.

Wendell Minnick is Taiwan correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly.
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