Thu, Apr 11, 2002 page3

• US' Wolfowitz says reform trumps weapons

  DEFENSE In a speech to the US-Taiwan Business Council last month, the US Deputy Defense Secretary said that improving the military should be Taiwan's top priority

  • AP
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  The US can help Taiwan as much by improving its military as it can by selling it new weapons, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told defense officials at a closed-door conference.

  "We are eager to help" Taiwan strengthen civilian control of its military, make more rational purchases of new weapons and improve coordination between its army, navy and air force, Wolfowitz said.

  His remarks were delivered March 11 at a conference in Florida organized by the US-Taiwan Business Council. The speech was off-limits to reporters and the Pentagon refused to release a copy of Wolfowitz's remarks except in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

  The conference was especially sensitive for the Bush administration because it granted a US visa to Minister of National Defense Tang Yiau-ming (湯曜明) to attend the session, a move that angered the Chinese government.

  In a sign of its anger over US dealings with Taiwan, China refused a request by the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer based in Yokosuka, Japan, to make a port call this week at Hong Kong.

  China also is expected to object to US plans to send a delegation to Taiwan to present proposals for supplying the Taiwan navy with diesel-powered submarines, a sale first proposed by the Bush administration last April. The Pentagon is reviewing industry proposals for building the submarines, and spokesman Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis said Tuesday that the meeting in Taiwan could happen by May.

  In the Capitol on Tuesday, House members announced creation of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, which quickly and quietly gathered 85 members -- 46 Republicans, 38 Democrats and one independent.

  "The message behind the formation of the Taiwan caucus," said co-founder Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican, "is -- to those dictators who control the mainland: `Keep your bloody hands off of Taiwan.'"

  The audience, including 14 members of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, heartily applauded.

  In his speech, Wolfowitz repeated the standard US statement that it opposes Taiwan independence but will do "whatever it takes" to help Taiwan defend itself. Wolfowitz's emphasis on improving the quality of Taiwan's military training, as well as the quality of its weaponry, reflects an administration belief that Taiwan faces a growing threat from China's military modernization.

  "Taiwan needs reform in its defense establishment to meet the challenges of the 21st century," Wolfowitz said. Wolfowitz cited the hundreds of shorter-range ballistic missiles that China has stationed across the Taiwan Strait.

  "These missiles are clearly designed to project a threatening posture, and to try to intimidate the people and the democratically elected government of Taiwan -- so far, I'm happy to say, without much success," he said.

  Wolfowitz said the Pentagon also is watching closely the modernization of China's navy, which could eventually pose problems for Taiwan.

  "Taiwan needs to remain vigilant, and it should commit to increasing professionalism of its military ranks, and increasing jointness among its services to keep pace with potential changes in the security situation in the Strait," he said.

  For your information

  Seeing red:

  * In a sign of its anger over US dealings with Taiwan, China refused a request by the USS `Curtis Wilbur,' a guided missile destroyer based in Yokosuka, Japan, to make a port call this week at Hong Kong. * China also is expected to object to US plans to send a delegation to Taiwan to present proposals for supplying the Taiwan navy with diesel-powered submarines, a sale first proposed by the Bush administration last April.
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