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.
Photo: Reuters
“That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he added.
China’s unlawful claims in the South China Sea are symptomatic of its broader ambition to establish hegemony over the region, Koehler said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has ramped up deployments and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, while also conducting exercises simulating an invasion and blockade of Taiwan along the first island chain, he said.
Beijing’s designs extend to Southeast Asian states beyond the first island chain, using increasingly aggressive tactics to “coerce and harass them in their own waters,” he added.
The PLA and the China Coast Guard have employed water cannons, ship-to-ship collisions and lasers, even attacking the crew of a Philippine Navy supply ship with knives and axes last year, Koehler said.
The US Navy and the US Department of Defense regard the Indo-Pacific as “the priority theater,” a stance reflected in the Pacific Fleet’s strength, numbering 200 ships and submarines, 1,300 aircraft, and one-third of its forces deployed at any given time, he said.
Two aircraft carrier strike groups are active in the region: one centered on the USS Nimitz, operating in and around the South China Sea over the past months, and another centered on the USS George Washington, patrolling the western Pacific, the admiral said.
Also speaking at the conference, Japan Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Tetsuo Kotani said Tokyo is developing the “Japan Single Operational Area” strategic concept to strengthen regional defense coordination.
The concept envisions the East China Sea, South China Sea, Korean Peninsula and surrounding waters as a unified theater of military operations in which Japan and its allies act jointly, Kotani said.
However, Indo-Pacific nations would face significant challenges in maintaining peace and stability within this framework if Taiwan remains excluded from regional security arrangements, he said.
The various governments’ continued adherence to Beijing’s “one China” principle makes including Taiwan a difficult proposition, he said.
However, Taiwan should still be allowed to participate as an observer in joint military exercises such as the US-Philippine Exercise Balikatan, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) and other multilateral drills, he added.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
RSS