China has noted the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and could take steps to protect itself from a similar rebuke stemming from a more aggressive posture toward Taiwan, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.
“You have to believe that they’re thinking along those lines, if they were considering doing something in the future,” Austin told reporters shortly after he left Cambodia, where he attended a series of meetings with ASEAN defense ministers.
He said he had not “seen any physical signs of them insulating themselves.”
Photo: AP
Asked if he anticipated Pacific Rim nations would rally to Taiwan’s side if China were to launch an invasion, Austin said allies’ respect for the rules-based international order “will lead them in whatever direction they go in, and not just allegiance to the United States.”
US President Joe Biden has said Washington would defend Taiwan militarily from a Chinese attack — remarks that prompted Beijing to increase pressure on Taiwan following a visit to Taipei by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August.
Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Indonesia last week held their first in-person meeting since Biden assumed office, a session aimed at putting the US-China relationship on a more stable footing.
Photo: REUTERS
Still, China remains a “challenge” for the US and is likely already working to safeguard its economy and supply chains against sanctions allies would impose if it tries to invade Taiwan.
“China is our basic challenge. We don’t call them a threat, we call them a challenge. That’s the relationship that we believe we have,” Austin said. “We have a competitive relationship and not a contentious relationship.”
Austin met with Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on Tuesday, the first face-to-face meeting between the two since Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.
Photo: AFP
The Pentagon chief called for the two sides to keep their lines of communication open and warned of “increasingly dangerous behavior” by Chinese military aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a statement and briefing by US officials after the meeting.
US forces are “spending a lot more time” training in Asia, for military exercises such as Garuda Shield, Austin said.
“Our troops want to train with allies and partners. They want to develop interoperability,” he said.
Austin described his meetings with officials from China, India, the Philippines and other nations on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering as “very productive.”
“This is a big area, a vast area and it supports a lot of commerce,” he said. “We want to make sure that the skies and seas remain open and accessible to everybody in the region and around the globe.”
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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