The US should use its superior military force to set limits on Chinese aggression “as it has done in Taiwan,” former commander of US forces in the Pacific region admiral Dennis Blair said on Wednesday.
Testifying before the US Senate Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs, Blair said the US needed to decide which claims in the South China Sea it recognizes.
His testimony came one day after the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled on a appeal from the Philippines, rejecting China’s claims to much of the South China Sea.
“It would be ideal if there were a multilateral adjudication of the conflicting claims in the South China Sea, since there are many disputed claims beyond China’s,” Blair said.
He said such a multilateral adjudication should ideally be undertaken by the claimant countries themselves, with or without China’s participation.
“However, even without such a comprehensive settlement, the US should oppose some of China’s most extreme claims, if necessary, by the use of force,” Blair said.
He said the objective of US military opposition to China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea was not to contain China, but to encourage it to settle its claims with its neighbors in an equitable manner rather than seeking “always to expand its own local power through its superior local military and law enforcement forces.”
The US supported all mechanisms for peaceful dispute settlement in East Asia, including disputes involving Taiwan, he said, adding that when disputes had involved Taiwan, the US had made military commitments to deter aggression.
Former US assistant secretary of state for East Asia Kurt Campbell told the subcommittee that the long-awaited ruling from The Hague was a triumph for the rule of law, but that it also laid bare the need for the US to remain deeply engaged in the South China Sea.
As part of the pivot to Asia, the US remained committed to the security of Taiwan and had bolstered its ties with Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, he said.
“As a result of its rapid rise, China has gained the ability to press claims and has been doing so in an aggressive manner,” Campbell said. “From its land reclamation and installation of military facilities in the South China Sea, to its pressure on Japan’s administration of the Senkaku Islands [Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台)] in the East China Sea, China appears to be quickly expanding its reach.”
Campbell said it was particularly worrisome that China had attempted to impose “military alert zones” that sought to hive off international waters and airspace around artificial islands.
“Many speculate that Beijing wants to be able to maneuver unimpeded inside the first island chain and beyond and to limit the ability of others to do the same,” Campbell said.
“If true, there is little question that these objectives are dangerous and destabilizing for the US and all trading nations,” he said.
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
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
RSS