US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sunday said that he sees no imminent invasion of Taiwan by China, but said Beijing was trying to establish a “new normal” with its military activities around the nation.
A visit to Taiwan in early August by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged China, which subsequently intensified military drills around the nation. Those have continued, although on a much reduced scale.
“I don’t see an imminent invasion,” Austin said in an interview on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS that was recorded on Friday.
Photo: screen grab from CNN
“What we do see is China moving to establish what we would call a new normal. Increased activity — we saw a number of center-line crossings of the Taiwan Strait by their aircraft. That number has increased over time. We’ve seen more activity with their surface vessels and waters in and around Taiwan,” he said.
The US and its allies have responded to the drills by continuing to sail through the region. A US Navy warship and a Canadian frigate made a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on Sept. 20.
The US would continue to work with its allies and partners “to ensure that we maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Austin said in the interview.
The US would help Taiwan develop the capability to defend itself from a Chinese invasion, he added, stopping short of US President Joe Biden’s vow to send troops to the nation.
“We’re committed to helping Taiwan develop the capability to defend itself,” Austin said.
Washington has historically maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would intervene militarily if Taiwan were attacked by China.
Asked in an interview with CBS last month whether US troops would defend Taiwan, Biden said “yes,” if it were “an unprecedented attack.”
Asked by CNN host Fareed Zakaria whether the US military was preparing to send troops to Taiwan in line with Biden’s comments, Austin declined to answer directly.
“The American military is always prepared to protect our interests and live up to our commitments. I think the president was clear in providing his answers as he responded to a hypothetical question,” Austin said.
“But, again, we continue to work to make sure that we have the right capabilities in the right places to ensure that we help our allies maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Meanwhile, Austin said that the US is working to reopen channels of military communication with China.
Beijing in August halted cooperation with the US in a number of areas, including dialogue between senior-level military commanders, in retaliation for Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Austin said he had spoken to Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) “on the phone and in person,” but the communication channel between them is “not open” right now.
“We’ll do everything we can to continue to signal that we want those channels open, and I would hope that China would begin to lean forward a bit more and work with us,” Austin said.
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
HELPING HAND: The steering committee of the National Stabilization Fund is expected to hold a meeting to discuss how and when to utilize the fund to help buffer the sell-off The TAIEX plunged 2,065.87 points, or 9.7 percent, to close at 19,232.35 yesterday, the highest single-day percentage loss on record, as investors braced for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs after an extended holiday weekend. Amid the pessimistic atmosphere, 945 listed companies led by large-cap stocks — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Largan Precision Co (大立光) — fell by the daily maximum of 10 percent at the close, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The number of listed companies ending limit-down set a new record, the exchange said. The TAIEX plunged by daily maxiumu in just
RSS