Seeking "common strategic objectives," military experts said that China would be less likely to launch an invasion of Taiwan under a new US-Japan joint agreement seeing security in the Taiwan Strait.
Former vice-minister of National Defense Lin Chong-pin (
However, Lin said he did not expect Beijing to respond angrily to US and Japanese plans regarding the new agreement, as its diplomacy is more skillful and subtle. China has typically avoided confrontation with the US on Taiwan-related issues, he noted.
"I see the agreement as concerning Washington's core interest; a stable and secure Taiwan Strait," Lin said.
"This means that Washington is enhancing, not reducing, its military commitments toward Taiwan," he added.
However, Lin said of the political front, the US still wanted to cool down tensions in the Taiwan Strait and exert pressure on Taiwan to prevent it from declaring de jure independence.
He said under the agreement, Taiwan should seek more military exchanges and cooperation with the US and Japan -- particularly in the intelligence field -- but all of the cooperation must be carried out quietly.
Meanwhile, Lee said he did not view the US-Japanese agreement as a new development. He said under a 1996 US-Japanese agreement, Japan agreed to cooperate with the US in areas surrounding Japan that are essential to its security.
When ex-Japanese Premier Ryutaro Hashimoto was asked at a Lower House meeting in 1998 that whether the Taiwan Strait was included in the 1966 alliance, Hashimoto responded positively, Lee pointed out.
"I would not say China would be deterred entirely from attacking Taiwan under the agreement, but I would say China would consider more carefully the cost of a war," Lee said.
Lee also said China's military buildup has not only targeted Taiwan, but also prepared for a conflict with the US and Japan if both countries got in the way of an invasion of Taiwan.
Japan's worries about China's ability to strike its territory has prompted the country to strengthen its military alliance with the US under the new agreement, Lee said.
Lee also said that Taiwan's military exchanges with the US and Japan have been increasing. As an example, he cited the fact that US and Japanese personnel have worked in Taiwan last year.
He said while Taiwan is in the process of obtaining weapons from the US, the it would do well to acquire better 4CISR capabilities -- communications, command and electronics systems.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS