The top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region on Tuesday cast doubt on Taiwan’s chances of taking part in next year’s Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC).
US Congress members last month formally asked US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to invite Taiwan to RIMPAC, the biggest multinational maritime military exercises in the world.
However, when asked in a briefing at the Washington Foreign Press Center about the possibility of Taipei receiving an invitation to the exercises, US Admiral Samuel Locklear III did not respond affirmatively.
“Now to the question of Taiwan and RIMPAC, that’s a policy decision that would have to be made about whether or not that would occur,” he said. “And you know all the policy implications.”
Locklear has recently appeared positive about holding bilateral meetings between US and Chinese military leaders, and about Beijing agreeing to participate in the RIMPAC in May next year.
He has said that would represent a big commitment by Beijing because Chinese ships would operate alongside allied and partner navies under US command.
While Locklear did not explicitly say so, it is likely that Taiwan’s invitation to join the exercises would prompt a negative reaction from Beijing.
“Our primary role, our primary goal today is to ensure that the cross-strait stability continues … and is promoted,” Locklear said at the briefing
“We want to do the things that improve the opportunity for success and stability, rather than try to find things that might make it less stable,” he added.
“To the degree that we would throw an exercise like RIMPAC into that discussion, we’d have to have a long policy discussion about the implications and the pros and cons of doing that, not only between our relationship — the US’ relationship with Taiwan — but also about the stability of the region in general,” the admiral said. “That’s the dialogue we’ll have to have.”
Asked about what the next flashpoint in the Asia-Pacific region could be, Locklear said the area had been relatively peaceful for a long time.
“As a people and as a military, we should expect it to remain peaceful,” he said. “We should expect all parties to look for opportunities to de-escalate and maintain peace rather that create friction that would cause escalation.”
However, he said that a nuclear-capable North Korea was his No. 1 concern and posed “the most danger for the world at large.”
He said his next biggest concern was to make sure that the region worked through “all these territorial issues and that they don’t turn into a flash point.”
Locklear said the US should continue to ensure that national leaders and diplomats were able to conduct dialogues.
The goal is to create “space for dialogue,” and ensure the sufficient peace and prosperity required to allow negotiation processes to work, he said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2