US could be backing Taiwan.

[mrbitterness]

Because China will soon be catching up. Taiwan isn't even their main concern. Because the Taiwaneses have choosen a useless puppet as their president.

 

[waltky]

Don't wanna upset China or dey liable to foreclose onna White House...

Abandon Taiwan: US academic
Wed, Mar 02, 2011 - An article in the current issue of the influential Foreign Affairs magazine argues that to avoid military competition between the US and a rising China, Washington should consider making concessions to Beijing, including the possibility of backing away from its commitment to Taiwan.

In the article, titled “Will China’s Rise Lead to War? Why Realism Does Not Mean Pessimism,” Charles Glaser, a professor of political science and international affairs and director of the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, argues that the rise of China will be “the most important international relations story of the twenty-first century.” Glaser’s article makes the case for a “nuanced version of realism” that would avoid unnecessary competition — and perhaps armed conflict — between the US and China.

While the prospects of avoiding “intense military competition and war” between the US and China may be od, China’s rise will nevertheless require some changes in US policy, he argues. Such adjustments, he claims, should include backing away from security commitments to Taiwan. “A crisis over Taiwan could fairly easily escalate to nuclear war,” Glaser writes, adding that regardless of the origin of conflict, the US would “find itself under pressure to protect Taiwan against any sort of attack.”

While such risks have been around for decades, improvements in China’s military capabilities could make Beijing more likely to escalate in a Taiwan crisis. Rather than risk sparking an arms race with China, Glaser calls for modifications in US policy, changes that he admits would be “disagreeable” — particularly regarding Taiwan. By abandoning its commitments to Taiwan, the US would “remove the most obvious and contentious flash point between the United States and China and smooth the way for better relations ... in the decades to come,” he writes.

More Abandon Taiwan: US academic - Taipei Times

See also:

US commitment deteriorating: report
Thu, Mar 03, 2011 - BUSINESS VIEWPOINT: The US-Taiwan Business Council criticized foot-dragging on arms sales to Taiwan by the Obama administration, and Taipei also came under fire

US policy on Taiwan under US President Barack Obama has taken a “hazardous” turn that appears to be moving toward support for Beijing’s interpretation of its core interests, the US-Taiwan Business Council said in a special commentary released on Monday. The Obama administration appears to be “telegraphing its willingness to moderate legacy Taiwan support and cede more control to China in the dynamics and direction of cross-strait affairs,” said the report, titled The American Defense Commitment to Taiwan Continues to Deteriorate.

For the first time in about a decade, the US has the opportunity to reassess Taiwan’s defense requirements and future US security support for its longtime ally, the commentary said. Although last year “started off strong on Taiwan defense issues,” with the Jan. 29 notification to Congress of five separate arms sales programs worth US$6.4 billion, the programs “were not intrinsically controversial,” since the great bulk of the money involved UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters and PAC-III missile defense batteries. Those items were leftovers from former US president George W. Bush’s April 2001 arms package, it said.

Another notification in August involved a small US$250 million package to upgrade radars on Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighter — again a non-controversial program. “On both occasions the arms sales notified were originally intended to address the military threat posed by China dating back before April 2001,” the report said. As a result, the arms sold to Taiwan are “a solid decade out of date,” it said. “China rolls out its J-20 [stealth aircraft] prototype, and America enters the 6th year of deliberation over whether to provide Taiwan with additional F-16s — a platform already in its inventory.”

More US commitment deteriorating: report - Taipei Times

 

[Sallow]

Because China will soon be catching up. Taiwan isn't even their main concern. Because the Taiwaneses have choosen a useless puppet as their president.

I was in Taiwan last summer..

You?

 

[waltky]

China gettin' ready to sneak up on Taiwan...

China intent on taking over Taiwan: US expert
Wed, Apr 13, 2011 - A new analysis of China’s latest defense white paper concludes that it is part and parcel of Beijing’s “political warfare against Taiwan.”

The analysis by Richard Fisher, a senior fellow on Asian military affairs at the Washington-based International Assessment and Strategy Center, said the white paper “provides a disturbing insight into the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strategy of coercive envelopment of Taiwan.” Fisher said the paper was “a stark reminder of the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] ongoing strategy of economic and political ‘united front’ warfare combined with military intimidation, which the PRC could decide to change into a direct military campaign at any point in the future.” The white paper, released on March 31, should be seen as a weapon to convey the CCP’s “divide and conquer” strategy against Taiwan, he said. Fisher said passages in the white paper that are ostensibly addressed to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are “calm and straightforward,” but make clear it is time to begin political negotiations that could ultimately end Taiwan’s era of freedom. Pro-PRC factions within the KMT are “quite willing” to push the CCP’s goals, Fisher wrote.

Meanwhile, passages seemingly targeted at the Democratic Progressive Party are “harsh and likely presage how the CCP will treat the Taiwanese once they gain control,” Fisher wrote. Carefully going through the white paper point by point, Fisher said it amounts to an “emphatic rejection” of the current “status quo” and that the PRC makes it clear the growth in economic relations and personal contacts with Taiwan that it has allowed since 2008 “are not for the benefit of the people of Taiwan but to assist the PRC’s ultimate goal of conquest.”

“The CCP wants the KMT to start political negotiations regarding Taiwan’s future now,” he wrote. The PRC’s defense white paper is another “douse of cold water” for Washington from Beijing, Fisher wrote. “The agenda that it reveals should diminish further hopes that the PRC will eventually become a partner that shares US and Western global interests,” he wrote. “The white paper’s direct intervention into Taiwan’s political debate about its future is coercive in nature and affirms that despite its many recent actions to alleviate tensions with Taiwan, it is doing so to advance its consistent goal of taking over Taiwan,” he said.

Fisher said that given the growing military imbalance against Taiwan, it is imperative that the US Department of State review its longstanding restrictive interpretation of the Taiwan Relations Act’s requirement that the US sell only “defensive weapons” to Taiwan. “State Department restrictive interpretations serve to deny Taiwan access to modern weapons such as the Lockheed Martin ATACMS (deep strike precision surface to surface missiles) that could effectively deter a PLA [People’s Liberation Army] invasion, and thus a PRC decision to attack Taiwan,” Fisher wrote.

China intent on taking over Taiwan: US expert - Taipei Times

See also:

Chinese aircraft carrier nears completion
Tue, Apr 12, 2011 - After nearly nine years of refurbishing work, China’s first aircraft carrier — a platform that could add to Taiwan’s defense concerns — could soon embark on its maiden voyage, Chinese media reported last week.

Work on the Varyag, a refurbished carrier purchased from Ukraine in 1992 for about US$20 million, was near completion and the hull was being painted in the standard Chinese naval color, a Web site associated with the state-run People’s Daily newspaper reported last Wednesday. Seen as one of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s last accomplishments before he steps down next year, the aircraft carrier could take to sea as early as July 1, reports said. Expected to be renamed “Shi Lang,” after the Qing Dynasty admiral who conquered what is now known as Taiwan in 1681, the carrier has been undergoing modernization work at the port of Dalian since 2002. Although the hull was built in 1988 by the former Soviet Union, the vessel acquired by China did not include the electronic circuits, radars, antennas, engines or other devices.

A report by UK-based Jane’s Defence Weekly on Friday said the carrier would come equipped with phased array radars and surface-to-air missiles, making it a more independent platform than its US equivalent, which is dependent on Aegis-type guided missile cruisers for protection. Commenting on the reports, Lan Ning-li, a retired vice admiral in the Republic of China Navy, told the Central News Agency last week that after being assigned to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea fleet, the carrier would be in a position to move in areas surrounding southern and eastern Taiwan, a scenario that would pose “a certain threat” to the country. Even if Taiwanese vessels could block entry from the north and south sides of the Taiwan Strait, the “Shi Lang” would still allow China to expand its naval activities eastward into the Pacific, he said. “That will make Taiwan vulnerable to enemy attacks at sea from both front and rear,” Lan said.

Despite reports that refurbishing work had entered its final phase, many of the sophisticated electronics on the carrier likely had yet to be installed, Lan said. A picture provided by the People’s Daily showed the large bridge, minus the phased array radar, nearing completion. The 302m long and 70.5m wide carrier, which comes with a loaded displacement of 67,000 tonnes and a speed of between 29 knots and 31 knots, can host as many as 50 aircraft of various types — possibly including Russian-made SU-33 and carrier-modified, Chinese-made J-10, as well as anti-submarine -helicopters and early-warning helicopters. As Chinese pilots have no experience taking off from and landing aircraft on carriers, it could be a while before the impact on regional security of the deployment of the “Shi Lang” is truly felt.

Chinese aircraft carrier nears completion - Taipei Times

 

[LumpyPostage]

Maybe the KMT should take back Beijing like they promised.

 

[waltky]

Is Taiwan gonna have to fend for itself?...

Could US policy abandon Taiwan?
Wed, May 11, 2011 - Recently there has been an unprecedented volume of talk, some of it serious, to the effect that the US will, and even should, end its responsibility of defending Taiwan.

Foreign Affairs, the influential journal sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, not long ago published an article whose author suggested that Taiwan assume the role of Finland during the Cold War (ie, become a client or protectorate of China). A more recent article said the US should, given the rise of China, dump Taiwan. The author of the latter piece contends this would not whet China’s appetite for more and would resolve a major issue of contention between the US and China. Foreign Affairs often anticipates changes in US foreign policy. Sometimes it recommends them. In this case, it may be doing both.

There are also signals US President Barack Obama’s administration does not want to continue being Taiwan’s guardian. In 2009, Obama, meeting with Chinese leaders in Beijing, concurred that Taiwan is their “core interest” — meaning something China is willing to fight for (suggesting the US may not). Obama does not want to go to war with China. The US military is already stretched thin with current fighting. Moreover, he has proposed serious cuts to the military’s budget. Meanwhile, China’s military spending has been growing fast and will likely to continue to do so. Some say spending on an arms race with China would bankrupt the US. Another factor is that the US is indebted to China to the tune of almost US$2 trillion and needs more of China’s money. This gives China leverage over US policies.

The Obama administration has demurred — some say to avoid angering its banker — on arms sales to Taiwan. US Senator Richard Lugar, a long-time expert on US foreign policy matters, recently expressed serious concern about US arms sales to Taiwan being held up and not being sufficient for Taiwan to maintain a minimum level of deterrence. It is also a fact that Obama listens to the US Department of State, which doesn’t like Taiwan and would not mind giving it to China; it certainly does not want the US to use military force to protect Taiwan. Obama is hearing less from the military and the intelligence community, who see an advantage in Taiwan remaining separate from China.

There are other hints of a shift in the US’ Taiwan policy. Obama has appointed US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke as the new ambassador to China. Locke is an expert on economic matters; he has little knowledge of security issues. Meanwhile, a number of Obama’s China experts are leaving the administration, with Japan experts set to fill the void. Making matters worse for Taiwan, the US Congress — usually a strong supporter of Taiwan — is preoccupied with the US debt, healthcare, several wars and other issues. Moreover, the “Taiwan issue” does not resonate with many new members of the US Congress.

MORE

See also:

Hard up for arms sales, Taiwan turns to its own defenses
May 16, 2011 - The development in Taiwan’s weapons industry advances its long-term goal of greater military self-sufficiency as the US waffles under pressure from China on whether to continue selling advanced weapons to the island as it has done for decades.

Taiwan’s deployment of a third generation of Brave Wind antiship missiles signals a growing reliance on homemade weapons, which defense officials consider crucial as they worry the United States is backing away from selling advanced weapons to it. The supersonic missiles now on 12 Taiwanese frigate warships and eight missile boats could hit enemy ships at higher speeds if China – or anyone else – attacked, said Deputy Defense Minister Andrew Yang. The deployment announcement – normally hush-hush – came late last week ahead of Beijing’s reported plans to finish work on its first aircraft carrier. “It’s a continuous process in accordance with our defensive policy, which is defending the islands from attacks from afar,” Mr. Yang said.

The development in Taiwan’s indigenous hardware advances its long-term goal of greater military self-sufficiency as the US appears to waffle under pressure from China – which Taiwan considers a continuing threat – on whether to sell advanced weapons to the island as it has done for decades past. “If you put too much emphasis on imports and something goes sour between importer and exporter, you end up with an empty hand,” says Liu Yi-jiun, public affairs professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan.

Local weapons production also shows that China and Taiwan, which have occasionally flirted with war in the past 60 years, distrust each other despite talks since 2008 that have eased tensions through trade and transit deals. But China has never officially dropped threats to use force, if needed, to bring the self-ruled island into the fold. Taiwan, which lags in the balance of power against China’s rapidly modernizing military stationed just 160 kilometers (100 miles) away at the nearest point, once looked to the US, its strong informal ally, for sales of defensive arms. President Ma Ying-jeou still pushes Washington to approve a request for as many as 66 F-16 fighter jets.

But Washington, also with trade on its mind, wants peace with economic powerhouse China and fears another angry backlash if it sells more weapons to the island that Beijing has claimed as its own since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s. Beijing fumed after Washington approved a $6.4 billion arms package to Taiwan last year. As no other foreign supplier will step in, officials and experts say Taiwan has refocused on a 30-year-old effort to build its own systems, though officials give few details on budgets, timelines, and capabilities.

MORE

 

[Avatar4321]

when on earth did we stop backing Taiwan?

 

[LumpyPostage]

2062

 

[waltky]

Off we go, into the wild blue yonder...

Pressure builds for sale of F-16 jets to Taiwan
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 : Lawmakers cite jobs, air power

Congress is stepping up pressure on the Obama administration to sell more F-16 jet fighters to Taiwan as the island’s air defenses deteriorate and China’s air power grows. Sen. John Cornyn, a leading advocate for efforts to bolster Taiwan’s defenses as well as to keep a U.S. production line open for new F-16s, said Tuesday that the shifting military balance across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait is increasing the danger of a conflict that could involve the United States.

“While the administration dithers on Taiwan’s request for F-16s, evidence continues to mount that what Taiwan desperately needs to restore the cross-strait balance and regain the ability to defend its own airspace is new fighter aircraft to bolster an air force that is borderline obsolete,” the Texas Republican and Armed Services Committee member said in the Senate. “The repercussions of a rising and potentially aggressive China, able to dominate the airspace over Taiwan, demands the attention of our military planners, government officials and members of Congress because it opens the door for China to use force against Taiwan.”

In the House, Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, California Republican, also supports the sale of 66 new F-16C/D model jets to Taiwan because the island’s air forces are declining. “We have an obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act, and we should honor it. But let’s be realistic: The sale of these aircraft is good for the U.S. industrial base as well,” Mr. McKeon said.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates sidestepped a reporter’s question last week on whether he supports selling new F-16s to Taiwan. Mr. Gates, on his way to an Asian defense conference, said the George W. Bush and Obama administrations tried to abide by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. But he also said U.S. law was balanced by efforts to address “Chinese sensitivities.” Beijing opposes arms sales to the independent island nation that China regards as its territory.

MORE

 

[Ringel05]

Because China will soon be catching up. Taiwan isn't even their main concern. Because the Taiwaneses have choosen a useless puppet as their president.

I was in Taiwan last summer..

You?

I graduated high school from TAS.

You?

 

[waltky]

China gettin' testy on Taiwan again...

China mulls Taiwan ‘contingencies’
Fri, Jun 10, 2011 - POTENTIAL CONFLICT:Leon Panetta said the US should monitor China’s military capabilities and develop a strategy to preserve peace and stability in the region

Outgoing CIA director Leon Panetta, US President Barack Obama’s pick for US secretary of defense, said China was preparing for “potential contingencies” involving Taiwan, which could include potential military clashes. In written answers to questions posed by the US Senate Armed Services Committee, Panetta said China’s military expansion was geared toward building the capability “to fight and win short-duration, high-intensity conflicts” close to home. He was almost certain to be questioned further on the issue at his senate confirmation hearings in Washington yesterday.

Bloomberg, which gained access to Panetta’s 79-page set of answers to the committee’s questions, reported that he said China’s “near-term focus appears to be on preparing for potential contingencies involving Taiwan, including possible US military intervention.” Panetta added that the US should continue to closely monitor China’s military capabilities and develop a strategy “to preserve peace, enhance stability, and reduce risk in the region.” “The complexity of the security environment, both in the Asia--Pacific region and globally, calls for a continuous dialogue between the armed forces of the United States and China to expand practical cooperation where we can and to discuss candidly those areas where we differ,” Panetta wrote.

The son of Italian immigrants, 72-year-old Panetta is a popular choice for secretary of defense and is expected to be quickly confirmed in the job. He will take over from US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who retires at the end of this month. As secretary of defense, Panetta will play a major role in advising Obama on whether to sell advanced F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan. In his written answers, Panetta said the US must be prepared to confront potential adversaries armed with air defense systems, long-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles. “Given the importance of power projection for US operations, naval and air assets will undoubtedly play a key role in these future military engagements,” he wrote. Reacting to Panetta’s comments, Shi Yinhong, director of the Center on American Studies at Renmin University of China said they could be seen as a provocation by the US to exaggerate tensions between China and its neighbors. Shi said although there was some friction between China and its neighbors, Beijing has strongly emphasized improving regional relations this year.

On the eve of the nomination hearings, CNN described Panetta as “the ultimate insider.” A former congressman, director of the Office of Management and Budget and chief of staff for former US president Bill Clinton, Panetta is said to have Obama’s total trust. Former CIA deputy director John McLaughlin said Panetta’s time at the CIA, during which al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was found and killed, would act as a “pretty good schooling” for the kinds of decisions he would have to make at the Pentagon. “We’ve just come off 10 years where the CIA has been closer and more intimately connected to the military than anytime in its history. There’s a kind of intimacy between the military and the intelligence cultures that probably didn’t exist 10 to 15 years ago,” McLaughlin said.

China mulls Taiwan ?contingencies? - Taipei Times

See also:

US lawmaker warns China on Taiwan
Mon, Jun 13, 2011 - BEACON OF DEMOCRACY:The head of the Formosa Foundation described Ros-Lehtinen’s speech as the most pro-Taiwan given by any major Washington politician in a decade

US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, has warned China not to interfere in Taiwan’s presidential election and promised to support Taiwan’s democracy in every way she can. In a wide ranging speech -delivered in Los Angeles on Saturday, Ros-Lehtinen called on US President Barack Obama to sell F-16C/D aircraft to Taipei and to work to improve relations with Taiwan. “Taiwan remains a great beacon of democracy in East Asia and an important strategic ally in a key region of the world,” she said.

Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, was addressing a crowd of mostly Taiwanese-Americans at an event organized by the Los Angeles based Formosa Foundation. She has organized a hearing before the full Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday to investigate the state of US-Taiwan relations and the future of Taiwan’s democracy. “This is the first such hearing on Taiwan in seven years, but under my chairmanship, it won’t be the last,” she said. “One of the reasons we will be holding this hearing is that I am deeply concerned for Taiwan’s future, as it tries to cope with a rising China,” she said.

“I am also increasingly troubled about recent trends in US-Taiwan relations, trends which suggest, as one academic writes; ‘a marked decline in US support for the island’s freedom of action.’ Let me make one thing clear: I support the Taiwanese people and their democracy,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “Early next year, Taiwan goes to the polls to vote for both a president and a legislature. It’s an important election and should be free from outside interference or coercion,” she said. “Beijing needs to stay out of this election. China must not repeat the bullying of the 1996 election, when it sought to intimidate by launching missiles on Taiwan’s election eve.”

Formosa Foundation executive director Terri Giles said later that Ros-Lehtinen had assured the foundation that the US would support whoever won the election and that Washington did not back any particular candidate. Giles, who has been working for years to organize a US congressional hearing on Taiwan, said Ros-Lehtinen gave the most pro-Taiwan speech of any major Washington politician in a decade. “Tragically, Taiwan appears to have become an afterthought in the Obama administration’s larger aims of engagement with Asia and the Pacific,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “Taiwan has not featured prominently in the speeches of senior administration policymakers toward Asia, nor has it been a feature of discussion in relevant [US] Department of Defense planning documents,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

She decried that there has not yet been a Cabinet or sub-Cabinet-level visit to Taiwan by the Obama administration to engage in senior-level discussions with officials in Taipei. It was “stunning to contemplate,” she said, that the last such visit by a US Cabinet-level official took place nearly 11 years ago. “Is it wise for Washington to marginalize Taiwan in this manner or to signal to the communist leaders in Beijing a diminished commitment to Taiwan?” Ros-Lehtinen asked. “Absolutely not.” She said that it should be the firm policy of the US to encourage frequent Cabinet-level visits to Taiwan to foster deep and diverse commercial, technological and personal exchanges.

More US lawmaker warns China on Taiwan - Taipei Times

 

[waltky]

Upgrading the F-16 rather than selling the Raptor...

US to upgrade Taiwan's existing F-16 jets: Lawmaker
Sun, Jul 03, 2011 - The United States is expected to announce soon it will help Taiwan to upgrade its current F-16 fighter planes rather than selling it more advanced aircraft, a senior Taipei legislator said Sunday.

The move to upgrade the F-16A/B combat aircraft rather than sell the island the more advanced F-16C/Ds it wants will generate less pressure from Beijing, which strongly opposes any arms sales to Taiwan, analysts say. "This will be a compromise deal," Lin Yu-fang - the convenor of parliament's defence committee, who has twice visited Washington in the past two years to handle arms deals - told AFP. Taiwan has repeatedly pressed the United States to sell it F-16 C/Ds, as China embarks on a rapid drive to build up its offensive military capability.

But such a sale would ignite anger from Beijing, which reacted furiously in January 2010 when the Barack Obama administration announced a US$6.4 billion (S$7.8 billion) arms package for the self-governing island. That package included Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet, but no submarines or new fighter jets. US lawmakers across party lines last month urged Obama to sell Taiwan the new-generation jets, with some accusing the administration of showing deference to China.

"The United States is anticipated to make the decision (on the F-16s) within the next two to three months. The Obama administration certainly won't want to see the arms deal become an issue during his election campaign for the second term," Lin said. Taiwan has governed itself since China's civil war ended in 1949, but Beijing still considers it part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

The remarks came as the American Institute in Taiwan - the de facto US embassy there - confirmed that Kin Moy, soon to become deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan affairs, had visited last week, local media reported. Moy met President Ma Ying-jeou and Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the leading opposition Democratic Progressive Party, the Taipei-based Apple Daily said. Ma has worked to improve ties with China since he was elected in 2008 but has also repeatedly urged Washington to sell Taiwan the F-16 C/D jets, saying they are crucial to maintaining the island's self-defence capacity.

Source

 

[waltky]

Uncle Joe reassurin' China...

Biden to tell China no F-16s for Taiwan: report
Tue, Jul 12, 2011 - CHINESE WHISPERS: An official in MOFA’s Department of North American Affairs said the ministry was aware of Biden’s visit and ‘would closely monitor’ developments

US Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to embark on a state visit to China in the middle of next month, will provide assurances to Beijing that the US has no plans to sell Taiwan the F-16C/D aircraft it is seeking, reports said yesterday. During his visit, Biden will explain why the US President Barack Obama’s administration, facing pressure from US Congress and required to meet its obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act, would agree to upgrade Taiwan’s fleet of 144 F-16A/B aircraft, the Chinese-language news service DW News reported, citing an unnamed “senior US official.” However, Biden will reportedly tell his Chinese hosts that Washington has no plans to sell to Taiwan the 66 more advanced F-16C/D it has been seeking since 2006, the report said.

An official announcement on Washington’s decision not to release the F-16C/Ds and to proceed on the upgrade plan will be made in September, it said. Contacted for comment, US-based officials knowledgeable about arms sales to Taiwan could not -corroborate the information about Biden’s planned assurances, nor could the identity of the “senior official” be independently ascertained. At press time, the Taipei Times was still awaiting a response from Biden’s office. The US$4.5 billion upgrade program for the F-16A/Bs is seen as unlikely to cross Beijing’s “red line” on arms sales to Taiwan. While China is expected to go through the motions and make a solemn protest, few believe that it would result in the renewed suspension of military exchanges between the US and China, as happened following the announcement by Washington of a US$6.4 billion arms package to Taiwan in January last year.

During an official visit to the US earlier this year, People’s Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde said that while Beijing would react to any US arms sales to Taiwan, the severity of its reaction would depend on the nature of the sale. Other factors, such as whether Obama will meet the Dalai Lama on his current visit to the US, could influence how Beijing responds. Ministry of National Defense spokesperson David Lo would not confirm the veracity of the report to the Taipei Times, adding that procurement requests for the F-16C/Ds from the US was a firm policy of the country. Asked for comment, Bruce Linghu, director-general of the Department of North American Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), said the ministry had noted reports in the media about the planned visit to China by Biden and “would closely monitor those developments.”

Biden’s visit will be followed by a visit to the US by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping at the end of the year. The plans were finalized during the state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to the US early this year, Linghu said. Biden’s visit to China and Xi’s to the US are major events this year for the US, he said, adding that in accordance with precedent, Washington would brief Taipei on the meetings between senior Chinese and US officials before and afterwards.

Biden to tell China no F-16s for Taiwan: report - Taipei Times

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd says dey gonna Shang-hai Taiwan...

China military has Taiwan in its sights
Fri, Aug 26, 2011 - PENTAGON REPORT: Taiwan is the focus of China’s military, which is on track to become fully modernized by 2020 — much earlier than the US’ best estimate

A major new Pentagon report on the Chinese military says China is on track to build a modern military by 2020 and that despite improvements in relations across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan remains the principal focus of the Chinese military. Fueled by its booming economy, China’s military growth in the past decade has exceeded most US forecasts. Its aircraft carrier program, cyber warfare capabilities and anti-satellite missiles have alarmed neighbors and Washington, the long-delayed comprehensive 84-page report says. While the report contains nothing that is startlingly new, it is dominated by references to Taiwan. And it comes just weeks before the administration of US President Barack Obama has promised to provide an answer to Taipei’s request to buy 66 advanced F-16C/D aircraft.

This potential arms sale is not mentioned, but without actually spelling it out the study makes it abundantly clear that Taiwan is in desperate need of new weapons. Titled Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2011, the annual report to Congress from the US Department of Defense makes chilling reading. The Obama administration continues to deny that a decision has yet been made on whether or not to sell the F-16s, but unofficial sources in both Taipei and Washington are signaling that Obama will bow to Chinese pressure and not allow the sale. Instead, he seems likely to offer to modernize Taiwan’s dated F-16A/B aircraft — a move that is less objectionable to Beijing. China’s rise as a major international actor will stand out as a defining feature of the strategic landscape of the early 21st century, the report says.

And China’s modernized military could be used in ways that increase Beijing’s ability to gain diplomatic advantage or resolve disputes in its favor, the report says. Nowhere is that more the case, the report makes obvious, than in Beijing’s dealings with Taiwan. “The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] seeks the capability to deter Taiwan independence and influence Taiwan to settle the dispute on Beijing’s terms,” it says. “In pursuit of this objective, Beijing is developing capabilities intended to deter, delay, or deny possible US support for the island in the event of conflict,” it says. “The balance of cross-Strait military forces and capabilities continues to shift in the mainland’s [China’s] favor,” it says.

MORE

 

[Moonglow]

The US has backed Taiwan since the Chinese nationalsit government fled there after being defeated by the Chinese communist, hence that is why China has never invaded taiwan.

 

[DiAnna]

I realize this question is a bit off topic, but...

How the hell does an 8-yr-old thread suddenly get revived?

 

[Moonglow]

I realize this question is a bit off topic, but...

How the hell does an 8-yr-old thread suddenly get revived?

viagra

 

[lehr]

Because China will soon be catching up. Taiwan isn't even their main concern. Because the Taiwaneses have choosen a useless puppet as their president.

reminds me of the nam war - the communist peace movement called saigon a
" PUPPET GOVERNMENT " - saigon gave their people freedom !

hanoi murdered millions of them when they took over !

these communist demokrats have destroyed amerika - the price to pay off some of our debt is to give formosa ( free china) to red china

it is very dangerous to live in taiwan today- amerika has proven that it will not win wars against communist countries !

millions will die again - but whos counting !

 

[waltky]

Fix-ups instead of new planes...

Why China's response to US arms sales to Taiwan is so muted
September 27, 2011 - In an effort to maintain ties with the US ahead of a major shift in China's leadership, China's response on a multimillion dollar arms sale to Taiwan, a normally divisive subject, appears muted.

A week after Washington announced a multimillion dollar arms sale to Taiwan, the Chinese government appears unwilling to do much more about it than issue fierce rhetorical protests, according to political analysts here, in an effort to not disrupt ties with the US ahead of a major shift in China's leadership. Two previous US arms deals with the island that Beijing regards as a renegade province seriously disrupted Sino-US military relations; this time seems to be different. “The government would hate to see a deterioration in relations with the US at the moment,” says Shi Yinhong, an expert on US affairs at Renmin university in Beijing. “They won’t make more than a minimum response.”

A senior US official said Monday he had been told by the Chinese that “some activities, as part of the military-to-military program, will be postponed, rescheduled or canceled” in retaliation for the $5.8 billion arms sale. Sources familiar with Beijing’s decision say that, so far, the government has postponed only three events: a planned US-Chinese anti-piracy naval exercise, an upcoming trip to Beijing by Adm. Robert Willard, head of the US Pacific Command, and a tour of China by a US marching band. This is a far cry from the 10 month total break in military relations between China and the US that Beijing decreed in January 2010 to protest a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan. Two years earlier, Beijing also cut off military ties for five months in response to another arms sale by the Bush administration. Beijing has not publicly announced its decision.

US officials insist they are obliged by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to supply Taipei with defensive weapons. “China’s leaders do not want to make this too big an event,” suggests Professor Shi, because they do not want to muddy the waters before Vice President Xi Jinping – tipped to become president next year – visits Washington in early 2012. Nor are they keen to complicate their most important international relationship in the run up to the leadership change, Shi adds. At the same time, points out Sun Zhe, head of Tsinghua University’s Institute of US-China Relations, “one consideration” moderating Beijing’s reaction to the arms sale is that it should boost the chances of Taiwanese president Ma Ying Jeou at next January’s elections. President Ma has improved relations with the mainland to their most cordial level since the two sides split amid civil war in 1949.

“It’s a hard choice by the Chinese government,” given the depth of its opposition to US arms deals with Taiwan, adds Professor Sun. “But China’s reaction will probably be low profile and not exaggerated,” even if “military people here are actually very, very angry” that Washington continues to sell weapons to Taiwan in the teeth of Chinese opposition. Beijing can also take consolation from the fact that President Obama agreed only to upgrade Taiwan’s aging fleet of F-16 fighter jets, and has made no decision on Taiwan’s request for new planes. That has not cooled official rhetoric, however. A commentary by the official Xinhua news agency referred to the arms deal as “a despicable breach of faith in international relations, only to gravely enrage China, as it is nothing but a blunt interference in China’s internal affairs.” “The words are strong,” says Shi, “but the deeds will be more limited.”

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