US Representative Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, has come out in favor of selling advanced F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan.
“We certainly need to have a credible threat to make sure that China does not feel that it can take military action against Taiwan,” he said on Friday following a speech at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“We have made a limited number of arms sales to Taiwan and I believe that it is important that we continue to do that. On the specific question of the F-16s, my personal position is that I think it is a sale we should make,” he said. “Others disagree with that, and China will not be happy.”
Smith joins a growing chorus of influential politicians and academics now calling for the sale to go ahead.
US President Barack Obama is scheduled to announce his decision on the sale by the end of this month and there has been widespread speculation that he will bow to pressure from Beijing and refuse to sell the new fighters, opting instead to refit and update Taiwan’s aging F-16 fleet.
Smith said the sale of new fighters would help to keep a balance between “very difficult positions.”
“It is the right thing to do, but it will be difficult going forward,” he said.
It was also essential, he said, to make sure that China was aware of the importance of stability in the region and that “any hostile action towards Taiwan would completely destroy that stability.”
During his 30-minute speech — titled “America’s Commitment to Asia” — Smith said that when he was in Asia in 2002, there was considerable concern about the relationship between Taiwan and China.
However, since then, he said, “both nations” have made very positive steps.
“The economic and trade relationship between the two has improved dramatically. They are building that relationship and that is the key,” he said. “Do not force the issue or try to resolve what Taiwan’s long-term future is going to be and how it is going to relate to China. Build up the ties, make the connections, so that it is more likely that the future is resolved peacefully.”
“I believe that to be in China’s best interest and in Taiwan’s best interest. The United States needs to facilitate it. But we can’t walk away from Taiwan. It is an incredibly important relationship and we need to make sure that everyone in the region knows that it is an important relationship,” he said.
Smith said there was concern at the Pentagon that China could now threaten US forward operating bases and aircraft carrier battle groups.
“It’s an enormous problem,” he said.
“We should treat China like a friend that we want to succeed, but we must also convince every other nation in the region that we are going to be a countervailing force,” he added. “How do you strike that balance?”
He stressed the importance of avoiding a Cold War-style arms race and military competition.
“We are not going to have what we had before. We are not going to have completely unchecked access. In 1996, when there was a problem in the Taiwan Strait, we sent two aircraft carrier battle groups in there and there wasn’t anything China could do about it,” he said. “Now we are worried about what could happen. What happens if they decide that they are going to attack us? It wouldn’t be a wise choice, but sometimes people don’t make wise choices.”
He said that Washington should make it absolutely clear to Beijing that if China attacked US forces, the US military would “inflict a significant amount of pain in return.”
China should know, he said, that the US has the weaponry to defend itself and make the cost of action against the US “way too high.”
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
Chinese embassy staffers attempted to interrupt an award ceremony of an international tea competition in France when the organizer introduced Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, a Taiwanese tea farmer said in an interview published today. Hsieh Chung-lin (謝忠霖), chief executive of Juxin Tea Factory from Taichung's Lishan (梨山) area, on Dec. 2 attended the Teas of the World International Contest held at the Peruvian embassy in Paris. Hsieh was awarded a special prize for his Huagang Snow Source Tea by the nonprofit Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA). During the ceremony, two Chinese embassy staffers in attendance
RSS