China may be preparing to deal with its dispute over Taiwan through other than political means as it increases its offensive military power, a top Pentagon official said on Wednesday.
"They continue to increase their offensive systems," Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters.
"It looks like they are preparing for something other than a political solution to the Taiwan problem. And we find that disconcerting," he said.
Henry, who spoke at a breakfast session with reporters, said the US was seeking greater openness from China's military.
"One of the things that we think that would help with the Chinese is a degree of transparency," he said, citing China's growing budget and military capabilities.
"It is difficult to know exactly what they are doing," he said.
"What we are looking for is dialogue and transparency so that they can understand what we are doing, we can better understand what they are doing," Henry said.
He did not, however, describe any specific Chinese moves.
A Defense Department official said that Henry was referring to China's long-term military modernization, not any signs of imminent attack.
Beijing appears to be arming itself to prevent Taiwan from declaring formal independence or to compel a settlement on Beijing's terms as well as to counter potential US intervention in a cross-strait crisis, said the official, who declined to be named.
Last week, the Pentagon, in a new long-range strategy blueprint, called China the rising power with the greatest potential to compete militarily with the US.
The strategy calls for new long-range weapons and a greater US naval presence in the Pacific.
Beijing is estimated to have deployed 800 or more short-range ballistic missiles across the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing could use its weapons to try to decapitate Taiwan's military and political leadership and break its will before the US or other nations can intervene, the Pentagon said in another document, the 2005 edition of its annual report to Congress on China's military power.
Washington is eager to head off a showdown with China over Taiwan.
US President George W. Bush vowed in April 2000 to do whatever it took to help Taiwan defend itself if attacked.
Since then, his administration has pressed President Chen Shui-bian (
Earlier on Wednesday in Beijing, China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) condemned a plan floated by President Chen last month to scrap 15-year-old guidelines on unification designed to reduce the risk of provoking conflict with China.
"This demonstrates once again that he is a troublemaker and saboteur of cross-strait relations and peace and stability in Asia," Li Weiyi (
also see story:
Editorial: Managing the art of compromise
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS