The outgoing commander of the US forces in the Pacific, Admiral William Fallon, commended Taiwan's military for actively taking steps to improve the nation's capability to withstand Chinese "aggression," after years of US complaints about Taiwan's declining military spending.
Testifying at a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that largely focused on China and North Korea, Fallon also said that the danger of a blowup in the Taiwan Strait appeared to have eased over the past two years.
"My assessment is that [the situation in the strait] is less tense than it was two years ago," he said in answer to a question by committee chairman Ike Skelton.
Fallon, who was nominated by US President George W. Bush in January to become the next top US commander in the Middle East, credited the US for much of the improvement in Taiwan's military posture.
He said his command had worked with both sides. Regarding Taiwan, the US had worked to "continue to support them in their defensive capabilities, to encourage them to take steps that actually enhance their ability to defend themselves, should there ever be any military aggression.
"We work closely with them in assessing their needs and strongly encouraging them to take steps that we think are actually useful. And I'm very happy to report that our observations over the past two years ... has given us the feeling that they have gotten the message and they're actively undertaking those measures that we think would be very useful," Fallon said.
On that issue, Fallon gave credit to President Chen Shui-bian (
In a written statement submitted beforehand, Fallon expanded on these efforts to encourage Taiwan to "create a credible deterrent to any attack."
"We have advocated inexpensive hardening practices as well as the acquisition of a combination of defensive weapons and systems," the note said.
The US "will continue to make available to Taiwan such advice, training and support for congressionally approved equipment to defend against the potential of military aggression by the PRC," he said.
Fallon pointed to Chinese purchases of Russian weaponry which he called "state-of-the-art things."
"They're growing in capabilities. They clearly have been given a task and that's to be able to take care of a Taiwan situation. And they know that since we are pledged to help Taiwan defend itself, that they will need to counter our capabilities. So we see a lot of work like this anti-satellite shot that's, I think, clearly designed to counter our capabilities."
The anti-satellite shootdown he mentioned referred to the destruction of an aging Chinese weather satellite on Jan. 11 by a Chinese ballistic missile.
The test was widely criticized as a harbinger of China's potential ability to disable US space communication channels that the US military would need to respond to any Chinese military action across the strait.
"That said, they have a long way to go," he said.
Despite the test and China's continued break-neck military buildup, Fallon said: "I don't see [China] as particularly threatening right now. We are certainly watching their capabilities and we would encourage them to be more open and more transparent."
"Without greater insight into Chinese goals and objectives, I will remain concerned about continued double-digit growth in annual defense spending and investment in systems which threaten Taiwan and our own capabilities," he added.
Fallon's designated successor at Pacific command, Admiral Timothy Keating, will face a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee next Thursday, where he will likely be asked to provide his assessment of the Chinese military posture.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all