A few weeks before US President Barack Obama embarks on a trip to China, Democratic Congressman Robert Andrews has introduced a resolution on Capitol Hill “expressing the sense of Congress regarding the freedom, security and stability of Taiwan.”
It is aimed at pressuring Obama to stand up for Taiwan when the issue is raised — as it surely will be — at his meetings with President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in Beijing.
Bob Yang (楊英育), president of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), said: “In addition to the military threat, China is now also gaining tremendous economic leverage over Taiwan. China’s dual strategy of economic and military coercion to compel Taiwan into submission has alarmed many Taiwan supporters in the US Congress.”
The resolution says that “grave concerns” exist in Congress over the continued deployment by China of more than 1,400 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan.
It instructs Obama to seek “a public and unequivocal renunciation” by the Chinese leadership of any threat or use of force against Taiwan.
The resolution adds that Taiwan’s future should be determined peacefully, free of coercion by Beijing and with the express consent of the people of Taiwan.
While it is unlikely that the resolution will be approved by Congress this year, its significance lies in it simply being introduced at all during this highly sensitive time.
Obama’s nine-day trip through Asia — he leaves on Nov. 10 and returns on Nov. 19 — will take him to Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea.
He will be in Beijing and Shanghai between Nov. 15 and Nov. 18.
China has indicated that trade protectionism will be at the top of its list of priorities and White House sources have said that Obama will push China to reach a bilateral climate change agreement.
But the Jamestown Foundation, a respected US think-tank, puts “the Taiwan issue” first in its list of “sticking points” in the US-China relationship.
Thousands of Taiwanese-Americans are expected to urge their representatives to support the resolution to bring it to the attention of the White House.
Andrews, from New Jersey, is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee.
A Pentagon report issued earlier this year warns that China’s military modernization could be used in the future to pressure Taiwan toward a settlement of the cross-strait dispute on Beijing’s terms, while “simultaneously attempting to deter, delay or deny any possible US support for the island in case of conflict.”
“The people of Taiwan live under a constant dark cloud of threats, intimidation and harassment. They should be able to determine their own future free from fear,” Yang said.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu said the strengthening of military facilities would help to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.” Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress
NO CHANGES: A Japanese spokesperson said that Tokyo remains consistent and open for dialogue, while Beijing has canceled diplomatic engagements A Japanese official blasted China’s claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has altered Japan’s position on a Taiwan crisis as “entirely baseless,” calling for more dialogue to stop ties between Asia’s top economies from spiraling. China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it “dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait” in a letter delivered Friday to the UN. “I’m aware of this letter,” said Maki Kobayashi, a senior Japanese government spokeswoman. “The claim our country has altered its position is entirely baseless,” she said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry
RSS