US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien on Wednesday warned China against any attempt to take Taiwan by force, saying amphibious landings were notoriously difficult and there was a lot of ambiguity about how the US would respond.
O’Brien told an event at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas that China was engaged in a massive naval buildup probably not seen since Germany’s attempt to compete with Britain’s Royal Navy prior to World War I.
“Part of that is to give them the ability to push us back out of the Western Pacific and allow them to engage in an amphibious landing in Taiwan,” O’Brien said.
Photo: Reuters
“The problem with that is that amphibious landings are notoriously difficult,” O’Brien added, pointing to the 160km distance between China and Taiwan, and the paucity of landing beaches.
“It’s not an easy task and there’s also a lot of ambiguity about what the United States would do in response to an attack by China on Taiwan,” he added, when asked what the US options would be if China tried to absorb Taiwan.
O’Brien was referring to a long-standing US policy of “strategic ambiguity” on the question of whether it would intervene to protect Taiwan.
The US is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but it has not made clear whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack, something that would likely lead to a much broader conflict.
O’Brien’s comments came at a time when China has significantly stepped up military activity near Taiwan and US-China relations have plunged to the lowest point in decades.
O’Brien repeated US calls for Taiwan to spend more on its own defense and to carry out military reforms that make clear to China the risks of attempting to invade.
“You can’t just spend 1 percent of your GDP, which the Taiwanese have been doing — 1.2 percent — on defense and hope to deter a China that’s been engaged in the most massive military buildup in 70 years,” he said.
Taiwan needed to “turn themselves into a porcupine” militarily, he said.
“Lions generally don’t like to eat porcupines,” he added.
US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs David Helvey on Tuesday called Taiwan’s plan to boost defense spending by US$1.4 billion next year insufficient.
Taiwan needed to invest in more cruise missiles, fast-attack craft, naval mines, mobile artillery and advanced surveillance assets, he said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of National Defense (MND), in a response provided to Reuters, yesterday said that it would “strive for an adequate budget” in accordance with its needs to build a solid national defense force.
The ministry also confirmed that a US MC-130J aircraft had flown along the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
The US Air Force special operations transport aircraft flew into the Strait from the north at about 11am and headed south through the Strait before veering off toward the southeast at about 12:30pm, a civilian plane spotter said in a post on Twitter.
The flight could have been a confirmation of the median line in the Strait after the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs last month denied its existence.
The median line is thought to have been established by the US in the 1950s to prevent further conflict between China and Taiwan.
MND spokesman Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said that the military has been closely monitoring all movement around Taiwan, adding that there was nothing out of the ordinary about the plane’s passage.
Additional reporting by CNA
FRIDAY, SATURDAY: While Typhoon Champi might weaken, officials warned about large waves, while some transport services and tourist spots have been affected Typhoon Champi is forecast to have the greatest effect on Taiwan tomorrow and on Saturday, with a sea warning issued late last night and a land warning expected afternoon today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm’s projected track has shifted slightly westward and it could begin moving away from Taiwan toward Japan’s Kyushu island on Saturday, with the warnings potentially lifted as early as Saturday afternoon, CWA forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) said. As of yesterday afternoon, Champi was about 910km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, CWA data showed. Its maximum sustained winds had weakened slightly to
A sea warning for Typhoon Champi could be issued as early as Wednesday night, possibly followed by a land warning on Thursday night or Friday, as the storm approaches Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The typhoon is expected to have its greatest impact on Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, bringing heavy rain to central and northern Taiwan and to Yilan and Hualien counties in the east, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. As of 2pm yesterday, Champi was about 2,470km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving westnorthwest at 20kph. It had maximum sustained winds of 191kph and a
ORIGINS: A Taiwanese doctor practicing in Japan said he no longer needed to cover the nationality label on his license with a sticker, as it used to confuse his patients Starting this month, Taiwanese professionals working in Japan can list “Taiwan” as their place of origin following Tokyo’s easing of rules on “nationality” in official licensing documents. The change was announced yesterday by the Japan-Taiwan Friendship Parliamentarians’ League in Tokyo. The license revision covers 322 professions, including doctors and nurses. Previously, Taiwanese had to list “China” as their nationality on professional certifications and licenses, but the new rules updated the “nationality” to “nationality and region” or “nationality, etc,” allowing Taiwanese to use the name “Taiwan.” The league held a meeting about the revision at the House of Representatives Members’ Office Building in Tokyo
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a land warning for Typhoon Champi, which is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Taiwan through Saturday. The land warning covered Yilan, Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung counties, CWA data showed. The CWA also issued a sea warning for Typhoon Champi, urging vessels operating in the Bashi Channel, in the south of the Taiwan Strait, as well as waters north, northeast and southeast of Taiwan, to remain on high alert. As of 11am today, Champi was centered about 520km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point, moving northwest at 15kph to 20kph, CWA data
RSS