A senior US defense official has played down the large-scale Chinese military exercises off Fujian Province's Dongshan Island, describing them as routine activities that do not pose a threat.
Peter Rodman, the assistant secretary of defense for International Security Affairs, conceded however that the US is "watching them closely."
"I certainly don't see an imminent threat of a conflict'' as a result of the exercises, Rodman told reporters at a Washington media address that marked his public debut some five weeks after assuming the post as a key US advisor on Asia military issues.
"They have done exercises on a regular basis. I'm sure they learned something from it. They're modernizing their forces. But we're watching them closely, and perhaps we can learn something from that exercise, too," he said.
The exercises, which were first reported earlier this month, are said to involve as many as 100,000 PLA troops and several warships including recently acquired Russian Sovremenny-class destroyers.
They are reported to involve massive amphibious landing exercises that some experts say are intended to intimidate Taiwan, occurring as they do some 200km from the Taiwan coast. Rodman said that China has shown no restraint in its missile buildup in and around Fujian opposite Taiwan.
He indicated that the George W. Bush administration sees the buildup as a reason to go ahead with a massive missile defense system.
"I have not seen restraint in China's missile deployment, and it's certainly something we raised with them," he said. "They raise the question of missile defense, and I think a reasonable answer to make to them is, well, the missile defense is prompted by the fact that there are missiles.''
Regarding the apparent step up in US-Taiwan military relations under the Bush administration, Rodman said that efforts are being made to enhance communications and contacts between the two militaries, but that no firm decisions have been made.
While predicting "no imminent change" in the rules covering bilateral contacts, Rodman noted that "it doesn't serve anybody's interest for us and Taiwan not to be able to communicate on security matters."
However, "there are no decisions to announce yet," he said, noting that the "general interest" is served by having contacts. He said the current review is focusing on "practical" issues, and does not necessarily reflect a change in policy, which is covered by the Taiwan Relations Act and the Three Communiques.
The practical issue, he said, involved "improving our understanding of each other's thinking and strategic outlook, and also to strengthen deterrence, which is a clearly stated objective that we have."
In other issues, Rodman said any discussion of a theater missile defense system including Taiwan is "premature'' and said that no decisions have been made on specific weapons sales to Taiwan regarding the massive arms package agreed to by the Bush administration in April.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2