The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday slammed the government for inviting American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Stephen Young to participate in the Presidential Office’s annual military drill that began on Tuesday.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) told a press conference that the government’s move was “very inappropriate” and that it had “harmed our national dignity” and violated the principle of “confidentiality.”
Wu’s remarks came in the wake of a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday that several US officials, including Young, had boarded an armored tank during the drill.
The annual exercise, code-named Yushan, simulates various crises. It began on President Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) order on Tuesday morning and will run through Sunday. President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has declined an invitation to attend.
The China Times report said that US officials were also allowed to enter the Yuanshan command center in Dazhi (大直), Taipei City, along with the president and Cabinet ministers.
The article quoted an anonymous source as saying that the US officials were able to “closely observe” almost all of the drill, not including a national security meeting convened by Chen.
It said that the US officials also boarded an armored tank to a command center in Taoyuan after a simulated scenario in which the Yuanshan command center came under attack.
“If there had been any spies from an enemy state or China [among the officials], there would have been very serious consequences,” Wu said.
When approached for comment, KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), who also serves as the convener of the legislature’s Diplomacy and National Defense Committee, said Chen’s invitation was improper.
“This was not an ordinary drill,” Lin said. “After all, the Republic of China is an independent state. No matter how good our relations with other countries are, keeping a certain distance is necessary.”
The National Security Council downplayed the presence of Young at the drill, saying that his attendance met security requirements.
“We hope that people will stop speculating to prevent bilateral ties and our friendship from being affected,” the council said in a statement issued yesterday afternoon.
The statement said that the US had repeatedly expressed an interest in observing the drill ever since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) launched the annual exercise in 2005.
Based on reciprocity and bilateral exchanges and cooperation, the council said they finally agreed to let the US observe this year’s drill as the military had done with last year’s Han Kuang military exercise, the statement said.
It said that US officials observing the Yushan military drill were accompanied by government officials throughout the process and were allowed to watch the drill within permitted areas.
The process was conducted in accordance with the code of observation, and US officials were denied access to emergency response meetings attended by Cabinet ministers, the statement said.
US observance of this year’s Yushan simulation exercise was another example of the development of military exchanges between Taiwan and the US, the statement said, adding that it contributed to the promotion of bilateral cooperation.
The China Times report also claimed that US participation in this year’s military exercise was a scheme hatched by the DPP administration to force president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to continue the drills, which the paper said were unlikely to survive under the new administration.
The report also said the US hoped to participate in the simulation exercises to know how to best evacuate US citizens in Taiwan in case of a conflict.
Additional reporting by Jenny W. Hsu
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