The rise of China and the growth of its economic and military power has not yet challenged US supremacy in maritime East and Southeast Asia as US strategic partnerships with regional allies are getting stronger and China still lacks the capability to build a powerful navy, a US scholar specializing in China-US affairs said at a conference in Taipei yesterday.
Robert Ross, executive board member and research associate of the Harvard-based John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Studies, made the comments yesterday at a forum entitled "The Rise of China and the Future of the Asia-Pacific Region," which was organized by the Asia Foundation in Taiwan and sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the forum, Ross said that although in recent years countries in East Asia have become more reliant on the Chinese, rather than the US market for economic growth, China's economic power has not caused these states to realign with China, rather they are enhancing their military cooperation with the US.
Ross pointed out countries such as Japan, which has recently allowed the US to station nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in one of its ports. Also Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia which have long been conducting annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises with the US in the region.
Apart from these countries, Ross highlighted South Korea and Taiwan as countries that are currently perceived as moving closer to China, the case for the latter due to the Taiwanese legislature's resistance to passing the arms procurement budget to purchase advanced US weapons, and the penetration of Chinese soft power into cross-strait economic and social contacts.
Nevertheless, despite the military superiority China possesses over Taiwan, Ross said nowhere is Chinese caution in using military power more evident than in the Taiwan Strait, and it has been exceedingly tolerant of Taiwan's movement toward sovereignty -- all because it wants to avoid a conflict with the US.
"For China to pose a threat to US security it must move beyond coastal sea-denial capability and develop a blue-water, power-projecting navy. However China faces considerable long-term constraints in pursuing such an objective," Ross said He added that no country would sell China a capable carrier and the necessary aircraft and support ships to achieve that end and China has yet to develop the personnel that can maintain the equipment.
The Chinese leadership is also aware of the "punishing" costs involved if it were to seek to develop its own aircraft carrier, he said.
In contrast to the views of Ross, Indonesian scholar Shafiah Muhibat said it will be in the best interests of Southeast Asian states to be an "honest broker," by hedging between China and other big regional powers such as Japan and the US.
"Southeast Asian states prefer not to perceive China as a threat that has to be fought against. Rather, their efforts have centered upon embracing China and bringing China into the heart of regional security cooperation ... however ASEAN's relations with Japan and the US are equally important and are part of a strategy of balancing the increasing power of China in the region," Muhibat said.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
RSS