Military cooperation between Taiwan and the US is not likely to be affected because of a report by the US-based Taiwan Defense Review that the US is unhappy with leaks of military information to Taiwan's press, military analysts and lawmakers said yesterday.
Andrew Yang (
Yang, who has long-term contacts with the US government, said he does not think the US will act as reported.
The US was reported, in the Chinese-language press, to be thinking about retaliating against the leaks by refusing a visit to Washington by deputy defense minister for armament affairs General Chen Chao-ming (陳肇敏) in mid-February.
"My understanding of the US government is that they will not make such bold remarks. I doubt the truthfulness of news reports quoting unnamed US government officials as saying that Taiwan will suffer because of military leaks," Yang said.
Yang made the remarks yesterday in a telephone interview with the Taipei Times in response to reports by several newspapers yesterday that the US will punish Taiwan for the exposure of sensitive military ties between the two countries. "It is a fact that military cooperation between Taiwan and the US has become increasingly strong in recent years. There is no way to deny it," Yang said.
"The US might complain that the government leaks too much information to the press. But they must know they have the same problem."
It was reported that the US complained mainly about some local Chinese-language newspapers which exposed a US agreement to share real-time satellite information with Taiwan last year.
The US blamed some unnamed Taiwan lawmakers for putting the secret project under the spotlight, reports said.
Yang, who is a defense specialist, said he is skeptical about the reports since the so-called sharing of satellite information with the US has yet to become a fact.
"It is likely to happen, but not anytime soon. If it really happens, the real-time satellite information we can get from the US will come from commercial satellites, rather than military ones," Yang said.
PFP Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), a member of the defense committee of the legislature, also dismissed the possibility that the US will make a fuss about the exposure of the satellite information sharing.
"The US knows better than any country what best serves its interests. If military cooperation with Taiwan serves its interests, it will try its best to keep it going," Lin said.
"Some US government officials seem to be accusing Taiwan lawmakers of leaking sensitive information to the press. I do not agree. I think the executive branch of the government is more likely to do such things," he said.
The Ministry of National Defense declined to comment on the matter, saying it is not its duty to respond to reports based on unnamed sources.
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