US Representative Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, has come out in favor of selling advanced F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan.
“We certainly need to have a credible threat to make sure that China does not feel that it can take military action against Taiwan,” he said on Friday following a speech at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“We have made a limited number of arms sales to Taiwan and I believe that it is important that we continue to do that. On the specific question of the F-16s, my personal position is that I think it is a sale we should make,” he said. “Others disagree with that, and China will not be happy.”
Smith joins a growing chorus of influential politicians and academics now calling for the sale to go ahead.
US President Barack Obama is scheduled to announce his decision on the sale by the end of this month and there has been widespread speculation that he will bow to pressure from Beijing and refuse to sell the new fighters, opting instead to refit and update Taiwan’s aging F-16 fleet.
Smith said the sale of new fighters would help to keep a balance between “very difficult positions.”
“It is the right thing to do, but it will be difficult going forward,” he said.
It was also essential, he said, to make sure that China was aware of the importance of stability in the region and that “any hostile action towards Taiwan would completely destroy that stability.”
During his 30-minute speech — titled “America’s Commitment to Asia” — Smith said that when he was in Asia in 2002, there was considerable concern about the relationship between Taiwan and China.
However, since then, he said, “both nations” have made very positive steps.
“The economic and trade relationship between the two has improved dramatically. They are building that relationship and that is the key,” he said. “Do not force the issue or try to resolve what Taiwan’s long-term future is going to be and how it is going to relate to China. Build up the ties, make the connections, so that it is more likely that the future is resolved peacefully.”
“I believe that to be in China’s best interest and in Taiwan’s best interest. The United States needs to facilitate it. But we can’t walk away from Taiwan. It is an incredibly important relationship and we need to make sure that everyone in the region knows that it is an important relationship,” he said.
Smith said there was concern at the Pentagon that China could now threaten US forward operating bases and aircraft carrier battle groups.
“It’s an enormous problem,” he said.
“We should treat China like a friend that we want to succeed, but we must also convince every other nation in the region that we are going to be a countervailing force,” he added. “How do you strike that balance?”
He stressed the importance of avoiding a Cold War-style arms race and military competition.
“We are not going to have what we had before. We are not going to have completely unchecked access. In 1996, when there was a problem in the Taiwan Strait, we sent two aircraft carrier battle groups in there and there wasn’t anything China could do about it,” he said. “Now we are worried about what could happen. What happens if they decide that they are going to attack us? It wouldn’t be a wise choice, but sometimes people don’t make wise choices.”
He said that Washington should make it absolutely clear to Beijing that if China attacked US forces, the US military would “inflict a significant amount of pain in return.”
China should know, he said, that the US has the weaponry to defend itself and make the cost of action against the US “way too high.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as