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Admiral lauds Taiwan's military

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 (陳水扁) and his government.

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.
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