The US' top military officer yesterday said that China had built up a "very large" missile arsenal opposite Taiwan and cautioned that Washington was committed to helping the nation defend itself.
"The US is committed to helping Taiwan maintain its ability to resist the use of force or coercion to solve this problem," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers told journalists as he wrapped up a two-day visit to China, during which he met the country's top military brass.
"And it is not just a one-sided issue," he said when questioned by Chinese journalists on US arms sales to Taipei.
"In fact, if you look at the build-up on the Chinese mainland side of the [Taiwan] Strait in terms of surface-to-surface missiles, you would see a very large build-up. And China continues to build up its capability opposite Taiwan.
"Our responsibility under the Taiwan Relations Act is to assist Taiwan in its ability to defend itself. Again, so there will be a peaceful resolution to the problem and no temptation to use force," he said.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen hopes the referendum will send Beijing a clear message that the nation is unhappy about the hundreds of ballistic missiles deployed against it.
Last month, US President George W. Bush publicly rebuked Chen's plan and Myers repeated the stance yesterday, but also warned China the US would not stand by if it used force.
"President Bush could not have been clearer when he was speaking to Premier Wen [Jiabao (溫家寶)] that the US will resist any attempts to use coercion to solve the problem between China and Taiwan," Myers said.
"Again, I think all three parties in this case understand that very thoroughly," he said.
Meanwhile, State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said on Wednesday that one of the reasons ties between the US and Taiwan were so close was that democracy continued to flourish in Taiwan.
Addressing foreign correspondents at the New York Foreign Press Center, Ereli said the US-Taiwan relationship was marked by a couple of constants, including US "appreciation for and support of Taiwan's democracy and democratic development."
He added that Bush "has been very clear and uncompromising on the issue of Taiwan's security and our commitment to that."
Ereli said the US believes that "the way to solve cross-strait tensions in the Taiwan Strait is through a cross-strait dialogue rather than statements here and statements there."
Stressing that the US government was taking very seriously the commitments made by Chen in his inaugural speech, Ereli said the US opposed any attempt by either Taiwan or China to unilaterally change the status quo.
"In that regard, we would be opposed to any [referendum] that would change Taiwan's status and move toward independence," he added.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
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Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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