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Taiwan policy is still the same, claim US officials

The US Department of Defense said on Friday that its policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged and that the weaponry the US plans to sell to the country is defensive rather than offensive.

The Pentagon made the remarks in response to a Sept. 27 opinion piece in the Japan Times relating to the US military's stance on Taiwan's defense.

According to the article, US military officers who asked not to be named said that the new commander of US forces in Asia and the Pacific, Admiral William Fallon, had quietly encouraged Taiwan "to strengthen its defenses with increased spending, a better command structure, and defensive missiles, mines and helicopters."

The report also said that at the same time, the commander had urged Taipei to forgo high-tech offensive weapons.

Officers in the US Pacific Command headquarters had suggested that an arms package featuring weapons such as diesel-electric submarines and destroyers that the Bush administration offered to sell Taiwan in 2001 be withdrawn, the article alleged, adding that the arms package had languished in Taiwan's legislature because of stonewalling by the opposition.

However, the US Department of Defense said it had not changed its policy toward Taiwan and that it remained firmly committed to fulfilling the security and arms-sales provisions of the US Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

"We will continue to assist Taiwan in meeting its legitimate self-defense needs in accordance with our obligations under the TRA," it continued.

The Pentagon also rebutted other parts of the report, pointing out that labeling some items of the arms package as "offensive" weapons was inaccurate.
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