In a television interview on Sunday, the top US military commander reiterated Washington's displeasure with China's "Anti-Secession" Law, saying that threatening to use force against Taiwan was not in China's interest.
In an interview on NBC News' Meet the Press, General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked by the show's host, Tim Russert, if the US would intervene in a cross-strait crisis.
"If, in fact, the Chinese invaded or attacked Taiwan, would we defend Taiwan?" Russert asked.
PHOTO: AFP
"Well, the president has said, and I think it's the most powerful statement that we can refer to, and that is ... no change of the status quo by force by either side," Myers said.
"So clearly, it's not in anybody's interest to settle this by force," the general said.
On March 14, China's National People's Congress passed the "Anti-Secession" Law, which formally authorizes the use of "non-peaceful means" to unify with Taiwan.
Several countries, notably the US and Japan, have described the law as "unhelpful" and a potentially destabilizing action by the authoritarian regime in Beijing.
Myers ducked a question from Russert on whether US President George W. Bush's previous statement -- that the US would do "whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan -- still applied.
Reading from a transcript of a 2001 interview with Bush, Russert said:
"Question: `If Taiwan were attacked by China, do we have an obligation to defend the Taiwanese?' Bush: `Yes, we do.' `And you would?' President Bush: `And the Chinese must understand that. Yes, I would.' Question: `With the full force of [the] American military?' President Bush: `Whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself.'"
Russert then asked Myers if that was still US policy.
"That's -- obviously the president makes that policy, he's the one that makes those decisions," Myers said. "And the military will do what we have to do."
Myers was appointed the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Oct. 1, 2001. The chairman serves as the principal military adviser to the US president, secretary of defense and National Security Council.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
RSS