In its annual report released yesterday, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission made a series of recommendations aimed at boosting the Washington-Taipei relationship and pushing the administration of US President Barack Obama to take stronger action on trade issues with China.
The commission recommends that the US Congress direct the Pentagon to “address the issue” of Taiwan’s air defense capabilities, to include a detailed assessment of Taiwan’s needs vis-a-vis China’s growing military air and missile capabilities.
The Pentagon should also assess the US military’s capacity to withstand a Chinese air and missile assault on US bases in Asia and the implications of a similar assault on Taiwan’s air defenses, including the impact further deterioration in Taiwan’s air defense capabilities could have on US forces should they become involved in a cross-strait conflict.
At the same time, the commission wants Congress to encourage the White House to continue to support the improving relationship between Taiwan and China.
Perhaps most significantly, the commission recommends that Congress push the Obama administration to “identify ways to strengthen economic relations between the United States and Taiwan in order to improve Taiwan’s position in further economic negotiations with the mainland [China].”
This move will strengthen efforts planned for the new Congress when it comes to power next year to promote consideration of a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan.
The commission also wants Congress to pass a joint resolution reaffirming the importance of, and continued US commitment to, the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). A reaffirmation of the act would confirm congressional support for further arms sales to Taiwan.
The commission asks Congress to urge the White House to encourage China to “build upon the improved cross-strait relationship by renouncing the use of force in regard to resolving its dispute with Taiwan.”
“Beijing should also be encouraged to demonstrate its good intentions by drawing down the number of short-range ballistic missile forces deployed against Taiwan,” it says.
The commission also says that Congress should encourage the White House to continue working with Taiwan to modernize its military, particularly its air defenses. Analysts said this could be interpreted as support for Taiwan’s request to buy 66 F-16C/D aircraft, which Washington is still considering.
The 12-member commission was created 10 years ago by Congress to advise on China-US relations. Its report was based on briefings, eight hearings and visits to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Overall, the report sounds warning bells about China’s military activities and indicates a growing apprehension among the commissioners.
While it praises the improvements in cross-strait relations under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the report says that the security situation “is still of serious concern.”
“China’s continued military buildup across from Taiwan is increasing the gap in military capabilities between the two sides. In particular, Taiwan’s air defense capabilities are degrading as its air force ages and the PLA’s [People Liberation Army] air and missile capabilities improve,” it says.
The report says the growing imbalance across the Taiwan Strait poses potential problems for the US.
“The PLA increasingly has the capacity to deny Taiwan’s air force the ability to defend Taiwan in the event of an air or missile attack, which in turn increases Taiwan’s reliance upon US support in the event of a crisis,” it says.
“Furthermore, the PLA’s air and conventional missile capabilities could now endanger US military forces and bases in the region should Washington decide to intercede on Taiwan’s behalf,” the report says.
Turning to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), the report says the commissioners were told in July by a representative of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Beijing continues “strongly” to oppose Taiwan signing FTAs with other countries.
Several witnesses testified to the commission that Beijing was willing to let Taiwan gain the better part of the ECFA deal for now, “in order to advance China’s political agenda of unification with Taiwan.”
The commission also urges Congress to prod the Obama administration into tougher action against what it calls China’s policy of keeping its currency undervalued, saying Beijing is creating global imbalances and using “market access-limiting practices” that fall outside its WTO commitments.
The report notes that China has continued buying up US debt and has become the single biggest foreign buyer of Treasury securities, the commission reported.
“Although the size of China’s holdings has raised concerns about the degree of influence China has on the US economy, the lack of alternatives and the potential detrimental impacts on China’s economy make it unlikely that China would stop buying US debt or liquidate its holdings altogether,” its report said.
Wang Baodong (王寶東), spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said the commission’s report seemed based on false assertions that hark back to the Cold War era.
“I’d say China’s peaceful development has helped enhance regional security and global stability,” Wang said in an e-mail.
“Its responsible economic and currency policy and its sound [WTO]-related records have contributed greatly to world economic recovery and more balanced and sustainable global development,” he wrote.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AP
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —