The Pentagon confirmed Wednes-day the existence of a series of secret talks between US and Taiwanese officials on matters related mainly to Taiwan's security.
Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters that the seventh round of such talks in four years kicked off yesterday and will go on through the weekend.
Calling the talks part of routine exchanges between the two sides, the spokesman said that officials from the two countries "do meet regularly to discuss issues concerning security and regional stability."
Such talks are consistent with US commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), he said.
Davis said that the US delegation to the talks represents the departments of defense and state, the National Security Council, the Pacific Command, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the American Institute in Taiwan.
He would not identify the officials who will be present at the discussions at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.
It was reported yesterday that a military delegation led by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Admiral Miao Yung-ching (苗永慶) is to leave for the US for the talks in Monterey.
The talks, always held behind closed doors, were initiated during the Clinton era. The latest round is believed to be the first since the Bush administration was established last January.
An informed source in Washington said that the two sides have presented briefings and at one meeting held a crisis simulation.
It is not clear whether the two sides have explored the possibility of holding joint military exercises as well.
The talks started when Kurt Campbell was deputy assistant secretary of defense, the chief Pentagon official with direct responsibility for security affairs in East Asia and the Pacific region.
The source said that Campbell initiated the talks because he "correctly recognized that US responsibilities under the TRA could not be effectively met with an absence of such a dialogue."
Contingency plans
Also yesterday, contingency plans that the US Department of Defense recently said it has in case of an attack from China against Taiwan include the evacuation of US citizens during wartime, defense sources told the Taipei Times.
The evacuation would proceed while US troops land following the outbreak of war in the Taiwan Strait, sources said.
US troops would not get directly involved in a conflict with China, as their primary task would be to help US citizens leave Taiwan safely.
They would proceed to areas where US citizens are told to concentrate, since if they were to move out of those areas, they would run the risk of being hit by Chinese bombs or ballistic missiles.
These concentration areas for US citizens are mostly in Taipei. Major boulevards in the city, such as along Jenai Road, are to be chosen as the places for US citizens to gather together.
Another greater Taipei concentration point for US citizens is said to be a missile base in Wuku township, Taipei County.
School buses from the Taipei American School will be used to transport US citizens to the concentration places, since these vehicles are said to be bullet-proof.
Concentration areas for US citizens will be made known to Chinese authorities, so that they will not fire into these areas.
The evacuation plan for US citizens was worked out by the US government earlier this year following the transfer of power from President Bill Clinton to President George W. Bush.
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