Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang (楊念祖) told a Washington symposium on Tuesday that although President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration was doing everything in its power to maintain peace, it still considered China a “major threat.”
“We are fully aware that we are facing a clear and present threat from the other side of the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Yang, on a short private visit to the US, said he had not spoken with US officials about the possible sale of F-16C/D fighter planes and that he had received no updated information.
A response to Taiwan’s request to buy 66 of the planes is expected before the end of this year.
There was little more that Taiwan could do to persuade the US to sell the fighters, he said, adding: “It is up to the US to make a decision, or not.”
Yang was speaking at a symposium organized by the Washington-based “Project 2049 Institute” to release a new report titled Evolving Aerospace Trends in the Asia-Pacific Region — Implications for Stability in the Taiwan Strait.
He said that Chinese missiles arrayed against Taiwan sent a “very negative message” because they represented an intention to use non-peaceful means to reach Beijing’s goals.
A Chinese assault, he said, could begin with a “massive missile attack” attempting to neutralize Taiwan’s defense infrastructure and major political centers.
The country, he said, had to “try its best” to survive such an attack and demonstrate that it could “stand up against the aggressors.”
He said that he hoped Beijing would realize that the use of force would not succeed and that even if it did, it would result in a regional disaster.
Asked about the crisis caused by the sinking of a South Korean warship by a North Korean submarine, Yang said the incident showed friction could have a great impact on regional security and stability. He said he hoped Beijing would also learn from what had happened and avoid miscalculation.
The report said that the potential for a Chinese military attack on Taiwan remained the “primary flash point” in the Asia-Pacific region.
“It is also the contingency that most likely would bring the US and China, as well as others in the region, into armed conflict,” the report said.
Written by Mark Stokes, a US expert on Taiwan’s military affairs and executive director of the “Project 2049 Institute,” the report said a “relative erosion” of Taiwan’s military capabilities could create opportunities and incentives for Beijing’s political and military leadership to take greater risks in cross-strait relations, “including resorting to force to resolve political differences.”
In order to deter perceived moves toward de jure independence, China sought the capacity to dominate the skies over Taiwan, the report said.
The Taiwan independence “threat” also conveniently justified the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) budget increases at a time when money was tight, the report added.
“It also allows for an accelerated pace of modernization without excessive alarm from others in the region. The focus on Taiwan is useful in developing capabilities applicable to other contingencies around China’s periphery,” the report said.
It recommended the US adopt a mixture of positive and negative incentives to persuade civilian leaders in Beijing to increase their commitment to peaceful means to resolve political differences with Taipei and to reduce the missile deployment opposite Taiwan.
RSS