A cable classified as “secret” and just released by the whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks throws new light on the extensive security-related talks held regularly between the US and Taiwan.
The cable indicates that security talks are much deeper and more frequent than previously known.
It was sent in February last year by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Bill Stanton in Taipei to the US Department of State and details no fewer than 12 “dialogues.”
In a summary at the opening of the cable, Stanton says that the US has a range of security-related dialogues with Taiwan, including one led by the State Department, 10 led by the Pentagon and one led by the AIT.
“These talks cover a range of security issues and contribute to our unofficial bilateral relationship,” Stanton said.
He recommended some “modest changes” to the overall political-military dialogue structure to make it more effective and efficient, “especially in light of increased defense exchanges at multiple levels in recent years.”
Stanton said that in the previously well-known “Monterey Talks,” there was a risk that increasing numbers of participants would “dilute their value as a venue for high-level dialogue” and called for limits in the future.
In other talks, he said that a considerable amount of time was spent on technical issues that could be addressed elsewhere, allowing the talks to focus on “particular problematic programs.”
Stanton revealed that the first session of US-Taiwan Political--Military Talks was held by the State Department in Washington from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in 2009 and that they “offer a rare opportunity for dialogue on political-military issues where full attention is given to the political side of the equation.”
He said that the US wanted to strengthen the political and interagency aspects of the bilateral security relationship.
The most important of the -Pentagon-led talks was the US-Taiwan Strategic Dialogue, also known as the Monterey Talks.
Established in 1997, this annual meeting of interagency delegations is the highest level security dialogue between the two sides.
“In our view, this event suffers somewhat from its own success. The large number of participants at the most recent session — more than 50 — hampered the free flow of ideas,” Stanton said.
The Pentagon-led talks include the annual Defense Review Talks, which constitute the highest level dialogue between the US Department of Defense and Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.
These talks “provide direction to security cooperation for the following year and discuss issues of mutual concern.”
They usually take place in October.
Next in importance were the Security Cooperation Talks, established in 1995. They are used to review current and future arms sales.
The General Officer Steering Group meets annually to discuss ways of enhancing Taiwan’s defensive war-fighting readiness and minimize problems between US-Taiwan forces “in the event they are deployed in the same or adjacent battle spaces.”
In addition, the army, navy and air force from each side hold separate annual “detailed and focused discussions” on cooperation and the US Army Pacific, US Pacific Fleet, Marine Forces Pacific and Pacific Air Force “maintain very active security cooperation programs with their Taiwan counterparts.”
Stanton said that the military-to-military talks were “valuable and necessary” and provide a window on Taiwan’s contingency planning.
The AIT-led talks are held by the Political-Military Working Group and occur twice a year. They discuss military issues including hardware, software, training, doctrine and internal processes.
“Within the policy limitations constraining official US-Taiwan interactions, we have developed a broad range of security dialogues,” Stanton said.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
Taiwan has recorded its first fatal case of Coxsackie B5 enterovirus in 10 years after a one-year-old boy from southern Taiwan died from complications early last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC spokesman Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) told a news conference that the child initially developed a fever and respiratory symptoms before experiencing seizures and loss of consciousness. The boy was diagnosed with acute encephalitis and admitted to intensive care, but his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away on the sixth day of illness, Lo said. This also marks Taiwan’s third enterovirus-related death this year and the first severe
RSS