Sat, Apr 27, 2002 page1

• Taiwan security concerns prompt US military plan

  CHINA THREAT The Pentagon plans to expand the presence of aircraft carrier battle groups in the Western Pacific in response to China's buildup across the Strait

  • By Nadia Tsao / STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON
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  The US, worried by China's missile build-up opposite Taiwan, is pushing ahead with plans to boost its forces in the region, according to the Pentagon's top policymaker on East Asia, who restated the George W. Bush administration's commitment to the defense of Taiwan.

  Peter Brookes, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, made the remarks in an address, entitled "US Presence in the Asia-Pacific Region: An Enduring Commitment," to a closed door meeting in Florida, hosted by the US-Taiwan Business Council last month. He said Washington was seeking "contingency basing options" in Asia, the Pacific and beyond to be able to respond more readily to a crisis.

  US intentions in the region are likely to figure in talks in Washington next week with China's leader-in-waiting, Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), who arrives in Honolulu today on his first official visit to the US.

  Brookes' text was released by the Pentagon this week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

  Hu is expected to meet President Bush on Wednesday after talks with Vice President Dick Cheney. He is also to meet Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

  In his remarks to the conference, attended by Taiwan's Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) in St. Petersburg, Florida, on March 12, Brookes said the US was moving to expand the presence of US aircraft carrier battle groups in the Western Pacific.

  Until now, US Navy policy has been to maintain only one carrier battle group at all times in the Western Pacific. It is currently built around the Kitty Hawk, which is based in Yokosuka, Japan, headquarters of the US Seventh Fleet.

  "We are exploring options to homeport three to four additional surface combatants in the region, as well as guided-missile submarines to improve our forward deterrent posture," Brookes said, without specifying where the additional vessels might be based.

  "These changes mean a US presence in Asia that will be more capable, more flexible and able to respond more quickly and capably when needed," he said. In 1996, then president Bill Clinton sent two carrier battle groups to the region after China fired missiles into the sea off Taiwan's two main ports.

  The Pentagon laid out plans to put more US warships in the region in a congressionally mandated, four-year strategy overview released Sept. 30 last year.

  Brookes, in his prepared remarks, said the US did not view China as an adversary, "but we must be honest about our differences such as human rights, proliferation and Taiwan arms sales."

  Brookes said the US had an abiding interest in "ensuring Taiwan has a sufficient self-defense capability to defeat if necessary PRC efforts to reunify by coercion or force."

  Paul Wolfowitz, deputy secretary of defense, at the same meeting, reiterated President Bush's remarks that the "US will do whatever it can to help Taiwan to defend itself."

  Brookes said the US had an active security commitment to Taiwan under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.

  Brookes also delivered a strong message that the US supports all major defense reforms currently underway in Taiwan. He said Taiwan's greater focus on coercive scenarios, comprehensive defense planning, force modernization and civilian control of defense were "critical to Taiwan's national security."

  He praised Taiwan for rationalizing military acquisition processes and enhancing cooperation between the three branches of its armed services.

  He said China's continuing arms build-ups "seem focused on building capabilities that could inflict harm on Taiwan and undermine peace across the Taiwan Strait," he said.

  Larry Niksch, an expert on East Asian security issues at the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, said it was significant that Brookes outlined the buildup at a gathering that brought together Taiwan's minister of defense and Wolfowitz.
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