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US admiral sees
¡¥profound¡¦ cross-strait disparity
By William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON
Admiral Robert Willard, head of the US Pacific Command, said on Tuesday there
was a ¡§profound¡¨ disparity between the combat power of China and Taiwan, and a
¡§tremendous gap¡¨ in capability.
It was unusual for someone of his authority within the administration of US
President Barack Obama to openly concede the point.
Further, he appeared to call on Beijing to reduce the size of the force it now
has facing Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait.
He said that despite improved relations between China and Taiwan under the
policies of President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E), Beijing has maintained ¡§very prominent
combat power¡¨ across the Strait.
¡§Should that factor into China¡¦s calculus in all of this? I think the answer is
yes. I mean, it should,¡¨ Willard told reporters in Washington.
He said the US would be encouraged to see the degree of disparity in combat
power reduced in order to continue to ease relations across the Strait.
The admiral said it was in the US¡¦ interest that Taiwan remains defensible and
that it has the ¡§necessary capabilities and services to defend itself.¡¨
¡§We think that enhances stability across the Strait and enables the ongoing
dialogue that is occurring between the People¡¦s Republic of China [PRC] and
Taiwan,¡¨ Willard said. ¡§The combat power that the PRC holds across the Strait
and generally directs toward Taiwan is very significant.¡¨
He said Beijing should consider whether or not such a large force was still
needed.
Asked directly if he thought last week¡¦s decision to upgrade Taiwan¡¦s F-16A/B
aircraft was sufficient to rebalance air power across the strait, Willard said
it was not.
¡§The upgrade of F-16A/Bs is exactly the right next step to refurbish Taiwan¡¦s
air force,¡¨ Willard said. ¡§I think it is important to recognize that Taiwan¡¦s
arms sales in and unto themselves are not going to rebalance the cross-strait
elements of combat power.¡¨
¡§When we look at the combat power from ballistic missiles to integrated
air-missile defenses to fighter aircraft and much more that exists across the
Strait, arms sales are not going to achieve a balance or rebalance of that,¡¨ he
said.
He said US arms sales were intended to provide weapons and services so that
Taiwan had ¡§an inherent ability¡¨ to defend itself.
It was important, he said, that Washington and Beijing continue to have ¡§open
and frank¡¨ discussions about disagreements ¡X including arms sales to Taiwan ¡X
but at the same time focus on areas where the two sides can advance their
relationship.
Referring to a possible move by Beijing to limit military-to-military relations
with the US as a protest at the latest arms sale, Willard said he was hopeful
that China would recognize the need to maintain ¡§strategic-level discussions.¡¨
¡§There are too many important security issues dealing with the Asia-Pacific
region and dealing with the world to allow any single disagreement between
governments to stop consultations altogether,¡¨ he said.
Willard said the past year had been ¡§pretty good¡¨ in terms of meetings and
discussions between senior US and Chinese officials, and that he thought this
would continue despite the latest arms deal with Taiwan.
In related developments, Geng Yansheng (¯Õ¶¥Í), spokesman of China¡¦s Ministry of
National Defense, said yesterday that ¡§in light of the serious damage resulting
from the US arms sale to Taiwan, planned China-US military exchanges, including
high-level visits and joint exercises, will definitely be impacted.¡¨
Geng also urged Washington to ¡§stop arms sales to Taiwan¡¨ to avoid ¡§serious
damage¡¨ to US-China military ties.
Additional reporting by AFP
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