US concerned about leaks: report

The US has new concerns about whether Taiwan is taking its own defense seriously, and there's mounting US annoyance about secrets being leaked to the Taiwanese media, an influential defense publication said.

The report in this month's edition of the US-based Taiwan Defense Review cited interviews with unidentified American officials and a recently completed review of Taiwan relations by the US Department of Defense.

The report said that there is growing frustration in Washington with Taiwan's inability to keep secrets. US officials were especially upset when discussions about giving Taiwan access to highly classified satellite warning information were leaked to the press last year, apparently by Taiwanese legislators, the report said.

Another serious breach in trust was in June 2001 when the Power News daily reported on US-Taiwan cooperation on an underwater system for tracking submarines.

"Many of Taiwan's Congressional supporters and US officials alike do not approve of Taipei's propensity to always blame the press, which reports the leaked information, while attempting little effective control over the likely sources of the leaks, legislators and government officials," the report said.

Some US officials suspect that Taiwanese leaders often authorize the disclosures as a way of providing the public examples of US support for Taiwan, the Review said.

The report said US officials are questioning whether Taiwan is taking its defense seriously, partly because the military's budget lags behind those of other US allies who face strong threats -- such as Israel and Saudi Arabia -- the report said.

The administration of US President George W. Bush is also concerned about protracted debates in the Legislative Yuan about purchases of US weapons. The officials fear that future arms deals will also be stalled by such discussions, which often appear to be politically driven, the report said.

Some US officials are questioning Taiwan's commitment to defense because they think Taipei has lost interest in missile defense systems. The officials suspect that the Taiwanese have given missile defense a low priority because they believe the US will defend Taiwan in a crisis.