The US military’s top general on Wednesday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) reneged on promises not to militarize the South China Sea and called for “collective action” to hold Beijing responsible.
Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was not calling for military action, but that there was a need to enforce international laws.
“The fall of 2016, President Xi Jinping promised [then-US] president [Barack] Obama that they would not militarize the islands. So what we see today are 10,000-foot [3,048m] runways, ammunition storage facilities, routine deployment of missile defense capabilities, aviation capabilities and so forth,” he said in a talk on US security and defense at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “So clearly they have walked away from that commitment.”
Photo: AFP
“The South China Sea is in my judgement not a pile of rocks,” he said, referring to the series of reefs and outcrops that have been claimed as territory by China, reclaimed and expanded to accommodate military forces and large aircraft. “What is at stake in the South China Sea and elsewhere where there are territorial claims is the rule of law, international laws, norms and standards. When we ignore actions that are not in compliance with international rules, norms and standards, we have just set a new standard.”
“I’m not suggesting a military response,” Dunford said. “What needs to happen ... is coherent collective action to those who violate international norms and standards. They need to be held accountable in some way so that future violations are deterred.”
Washington has been frustrated by an inability to stall China’s aggressive military colonization of the South China Sea, which rejects conflicting territorial claims by Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The US has sent navy vessels through the areas claimed by China as “international freedom of navigation operations,” but otherwise has found responding difficult.
Dunford said that building on the Chinese-claimed reefs had slowed, but “I assume that’s because the islands have now been developed to the point where they provide the military capability that the Chinese required them to have.”
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS