These items will be considered at another time, he said, reiterating recent comments by Jeff Bader, the East Asia director on the White House’s National Security Council, that “there will be arms sales to this administration.”
When asked about the Chinese missiles pointed at Taiwan, Burghardt said that the number of missiles has increased and that they continue to pose a threat to Taiwan.
“[The missiles are] a form of threat. That’s the only way to look at it ... yes, of course they should remove the missiles,” he said, but added that the missiles were only one part of China’s overall threat to Taiwan and that US security commitments to Taiwan covered all contingencies.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
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