US law prescribes that it provide training for the military systems it sells Taiwan, although its military assistance differs from that it has provided Ukraine, US Army Japan Commanding General Joel Vowell said on Thursday.
The US Army Japan stands in for the US Army with partners Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines “on the knife edge of freedom” near authoritarian North Korea, Russia and China, Vowell told a virtual news briefing held by the US Department of State’s Asia-Pacific Media Hub on the US Army’s role in Japan and next month’s Land Forces Pacific Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He began his remarks by showing a rotated “lid map” with continental Asia at the bottom, emphasizing the first island chain stretching from Russia to the South China Sea.
Photo: screen grab from the US-Asia Pacific Media Hub’s Twitter account
The US Army Japan’s role is to “provide crisis response options” for any threats in the region to assure allies and deter aggression, and to ensure interoperability with the Japanese military, he said.
Asked about reports that more than 200 US military personnel are stationed in Taiwan and the possibility of including the nation in joint drills, Vowell emphasized the legal component of the US-Taiwan military relationship.
“We’ve historically had a military and State Department presence through AIT [American Institute in Taiwan], and that’s generally been as required by law,” he said.
The US’ Taiwan Relations Act prescribes training to use the military systems purchased by Taiwan, he added.
For example, if the US sold a tank to Taiwan, it would send trainers — defense contractors or military personnel — to teach how to operate, shoot, move, communicate with and maintain it, Vowell said.
“That’s what the law prescribes us to do,” he added.
“Not recognizing Taiwan as a country is the United States policy and has been since the Taiwan Relations Act,” but the US military has been working with the State Department and the AIT to “make sure they understand a framework for a potential defense,” he said.
This is different from joint exercises with Ukraine in 2015, in which the US military trained Ukrainian regiments on tactical operations, he added.
In related news, a study last month showed that about half of Japanese believe the US would intervene if China were to invade Taiwan, while 61 percent said they were concerned about China’s territorial ambitions.
Published on March 29, the study jointly conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Japan Institute of International Affairs compared survey findings from December 2021 and September last year.
The survey last year showed that 52 percent of respondents said the US would intervene in an attack on Taiwan, down from 55 percent in 2021.
The share of participants who said they fear China’s territorial ambitions was similar to the 55 percent who in the 2021 survey saw China’s development into a world power as a critical threat to Japan, it said.
Asked the same question in another survey, 52 percent of Americans believed China’s territorial ambitions to be a critical threat.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
RSS