US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns on Monday said that the US has a unique responsibility to Taiwan and is obligated to maintain a military presence in the region.
Burns made the remark at an event held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan via videoconference, Voice of America reported yesterday.
The passing of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979 meant that the US has the obligation to ensure that Taiwan is able to deter possible Chinese invasion, present or future, Burns said.
Photo: Reuters
The US should also “encourage the rest of the world to ensure that China cannot escape responsibility for coercing or intimidating Taiwan,” he said.
China’s aggressive reaction against then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August last year “violated the status quo across the Taiwan Strait in the past 70 years,” he said.
With half of the world’s shipping containers passing through the Taiwan Strait every day, any disruption caused by China would have inevitable and extremely negative consequences for the global economy, Burns said.
Photo: AP
The US and its allies hope the Chinese government shows respect for the cross-strait “status quo,” acknowledges the need to solve cross-strait differences peacefully and stops provocative actions, he said.
Beijing should not turn a deaf ear to this message, which is the consensus among the US, European nations and Indo-Pacific countries, he said.
Separately, US Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said that there is no imminent threat of China launching an amphibious landing in Taiwan, as it is very complicated.
Wormuth made the remark on Monday during a talk with US Army Pacific Commanding General Charles Flynn at an event held by Washington-based think tank the American Enterprise Institute.
China has been modernizing its armed forces for the past 20 years, but an amphibious landing is full of difficulties that “even [Chinese] President Xi Jinping (習近平) might be dubious if it would be successful,” Wormuth said.
“It is not that easy to invade Taiwan,” as it would take more than Xian H-6 bombers, submarines and ships, Flynn said.
Carrying out offensive military operations requires a professional, well-trained and well-led force, which China has been working toward, but “still has work to do,” he said.
The US should still be prepared, Wormuth said, adding that the best way to avoid war is to show China and other nations in the region that the US is capable of winning wars.
Many military simulations show that if a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, it might not be resolved quickly, which means that stocks of ammunition would be crucial, she said.
Additional reporting by CNA
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS