In a television interview on Sunday, the top US military commander reiterated Washington's displeasure with China's "Anti-Secession" Law, saying that threatening to use force against Taiwan was not in China's interest.
In an interview on NBC News' Meet the Press, General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked by the show's host, Tim Russert, if the US would intervene in a cross-strait crisis.
"If, in fact, the Chinese invaded or attacked Taiwan, would we defend Taiwan?" Russert asked.
PHOTO: AFP
"Well, the president has said, and I think it's the most powerful statement that we can refer to, and that is ... no change of the status quo by force by either side," Myers said.
"So clearly, it's not in anybody's interest to settle this by force," the general said.
On March 14, China's National People's Congress passed the "Anti-Secession" Law, which formally authorizes the use of "non-peaceful means" to unify with Taiwan.
Several countries, notably the US and Japan, have described the law as "unhelpful" and a potentially destabilizing action by the authoritarian regime in Beijing.
Myers ducked a question from Russert on whether US President George W. Bush's previous statement -- that the US would do "whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan -- still applied.
Reading from a transcript of a 2001 interview with Bush, Russert said:
"Question: `If Taiwan were attacked by China, do we have an obligation to defend the Taiwanese?' Bush: `Yes, we do.' `And you would?' President Bush: `And the Chinese must understand that. Yes, I would.' Question: `With the full force of [the] American military?' President Bush: `Whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself.'"
Russert then asked Myers if that was still US policy.
"That's -- obviously the president makes that policy, he's the one that makes those decisions," Myers said. "And the military will do what we have to do."
Myers was appointed the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Oct. 1, 2001. The chairman serves as the principal military adviser to the US president, secretary of defense and National Security Council.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS