Admiral Dennis Blair, the former commander-in-chief of US forces in the Pacific, on Tuesday called for an expansion in the level and intensity of US-Chinese military dialogue, with a greater focus on Taiwan, as a way to ease tensions in the Taiwan Strait and reduce the chance of a military confrontation between the US and China.
Blair said the level of military-to-military contact between Washington and Beijing was well below the bilateral contacts in other areas -- including trade and political issues -- impeding greater understanding between the two.
Blair made his comments at a press conference to introduce a new report by a task force of the Council on Foreign Relations, of which he is co-chairman, on US-China relations.
In addition to being the former US Pacific commander, Blair is the head of the US official delegation that observes Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military exercises -- a position he has held for the past five years.
In that, he has become one of the most respected, if not always the least controversial, advisers to the Taiwanese military and his advice is valued by the Ministry of National Defense.
Blair told reporters he would be leaving for Taiwan on Saturday to observe the latest exercises next week.
The report, representing the views of the centralist elite of the US foreign policy establishment, essentially recommended that the US retain its core policy on cross-strait issues as it strives to improve US ties with Beijing by further integrating China into the international community.
"The report is solidly behind the three communiques and the Taiwan [Relations] Act. There's no change whatsoever in that," said Carla Hills, the task force's other co-chairman and a former US trade representative.
Calling for higher-level US-China talks, Blair said that dialogue at the right levels "can dispel the misconceptions on both sides," adding that he thought "Taiwan should be part of that dialogue."
"A war between China and Taiwan that involves the United States is a lose-lose-lose," he said.
Asked about the US commitment in case of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, Blair said: "The US should have a `dual assurance, dual deterrence' policy, in which we let the Chinese know clearly that a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue is what the United States will support [and] that it will use force if necessary to carry out its obligations."
At the same time, he would "tell the Taiwanese that moves towards independence are not supported by the United States and will not be supported necessarily by force."
The report itself frames the US obligations in somewhat different terms as those enunciated by Blair.
The US should "make it clear to Beijing that the United States is prepared to live up to its security-related obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act," a law which commits Washington to supply Taiwan with sufficient defensive weapons, while maintaining a readiness to counter any Chinese military attack on Taiwan.
But the task force also recommends that the US tell China "it does not rule out using force to thwart any Chinese attempt to compel unification through force."
This would seem to urge a return to a policy of "strategic ambiguity" toward the US commitment to defend Taiwan in existence before US President George W. Bush's April 2001 statement in a TV interview to do "whatever it took" to help Taiwan defend itself against a Chinese military action.
Among other things, the report rejected the idea, mooted several times in recent years, of a new, fourth "communique" to update the three that form part of the US' basic cross-strait polity. Such a communique is "likely to cause more problems than [it would] solve," the task force said.
It also rejected ideas that the US could play an active role as a mediator of Taiwan-China issues, but added that Washington could act as a "facilitator" if both sides so desired.
The report bemoaned the willingness of both Washington and Beijing to resort to military action in the Strait.
"Claims by both Washington and Beijing of a right to resort to force to prevent an unwanted outcome in the Taiwan Strait naturally puts limits on US-China bilateral military relations, even on issues and missions of common concern, and encourage each side to prepare for a worst-case scenario," it said.
"Conflicting military objectives of this magnitude create their own powerful dynamic of mistrust and could even lead to a conflict neither intended nor desired by either side," it said.
"Until some level of political accommodation is reached in cross-strait relations, even on an interim basis, Washington and Beijing have to continue to manage their differences on Taiwan rather than resolve them," the report concluded.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
RSS