DoD News Briefing
Tuesday, February 22, 2000 - 2:08 EST
Presenter: Mr. Kenneth H. Bacon, ASD PA
Q: Better late than never.
Mr. Bacon: With that greeting, I might just leave! (Laughter.)
..............
Q: On the China white paper yesterday, the White House has made clear U.S. policy, that it would view very seriously any attack on Taiwan. How does the Pentagon feel about this? And do you plan any show of force at all? Is the United States planning any show of force in the South China Sea to emphasize this?
Mr. Bacon: We feel the same way the White House feels about it.
Q: No -- (off mike) --
Mr. Bacon: Our policy is very clear. We have a one-China policy. Disputes between China and Taiwan should be settled peacefully.
The Chinese have issued a white paper that contains some rhetorical threats, but -- and we don't think those threats are helpful, but they are -- it is only rhetoric at this stage. We plan no change in force dispositions, no change in our naval dispositions in the area at this stage. Obviously, we'll watch this situation very closely.
Yes?
Q: Ken, the Chinese just yesterday announced that they were demanding Taiwan join the mainland, that this was, I think, something that Taiwan was being expected to do. Is this approach of non-negotiation acceptable to the United States?
Mr. Bacon: Well, you've characterized it as non-negotiation. I'm not sure that that is the characterization that I would use. What they said was, they were asking for a firm deadline for unification, not an indefinite deadline for unification. That's my understanding of what the white paper said.
Our policy is very clear. There's a one-China policy. Any disputes about timing, between the two, China and Taiwan, should be resolved peacefully. And that's the policy. So we reject threats about the use of force.
Q: And do you reject the use of deadlines?
Mr. Bacon: It is for Taiwan and China to sort out this timetable on their own.
Q: If China were to ever make good on this threat and attack Taiwan because of its failure to set any sort of firm deadline, would the United States come to the aid of Taiwan?
Mr. Bacon: Well, there are a number of hypothetical questions there, but let me stick to the facts, and the facts are the Taiwan Relations Act. The Taiwan Relations Act says that we would view any use of force with grave concern, and we would consult with Congress over the appropriate response.
Q: Over the last several years, conventional wisdom of outside military experts has been that, while threatening an invasion of Taiwan would be -- it is easy to do that -- for China to actually carry out such an invasion would be difficult given the state of its military, its lift capabilities, air force, that sort of thing.
Can you tell us whether that assessment at all has changed with China's program to modernize its military forces? Is it more capable today of carrying out an invasion, or is it some years away from having that capability?
Mr. Bacon: Our assessment that it would be extremely difficult for China to carry out an invasion has not changed.
Yes?
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Q: Let's go back to China just for one moment. About China's military capability, I understand they've taken delivery or they're taking delivery of some Russian naval vessels.
Does that significantly -- does that represent any significant increase in their capability, to have Russian ships join part of their Navy, if you know? Are you familiar --
Mr. Bacon: Not immediately and not in the small numbers that have occurred so far. That is one ship, as I understand it. Obviously, they'llhave to train to learn how to use that ship and to integrate it into their force. Over time, it will lead to some increase in their naval capability, but one ship won't lead to a significant increase in their naval capability. They do plan, or have contracted to purchase, a few other ships and, over time, that will have some impact. But we're talking about a very small number of ships in a rather large navy.
Yes.
Q: Same kind of question, but to the SU-27 Russian fighters that they have bought and, I think, an enhanced air-to-air missile that goes with that. Does that change anything?
Mr. Bacon: Well, obviously this is a question you can answer yourself. Any new equipment with higher capability will, over time, increase the capability of the overall force, but it takes time. It takes time to learn to use them, it takes time to integrate them, and the fact that China is improving its military should come as no surprise. It's no surprise. It was one of Deng Xiaoping's four modernizations. It happened to be the last modernization they got to. Now they are devoting more attention to modernizing their military than they were 10 or 15 years ago.
Q: Well, obviously we are well aware of China's modernization process. I guess we're just asking in these kinds of questions about whether there's an assessment about whether the strategic balance is shifting at all. Are these things that are just on the margin and aren't really changing the big picture, or are we starting to see that big picture change?
Mr. Bacon: The strategic balance between whom?
Q: Between Taiwan and China and how they'd match up militarily.
Mr. Bacon: I think it would be wrong to assume that all of China's military force is directed at part of its own territory, which is Taiwan.
Yes?
Q: Just to follow on that, has there been any detected increase in the sealift capability of the Chinese military that would allow them greater capability to take Taiwan?
Mr. Bacon: I answered that question earlier. There has not been any significant change in their amphibious capability.
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Q: Thank you.
"This transcript was prepared by the Federal News Service, Inc., Washington DC. Federal News Service is a private company. For other defense related transcripts not available through this site, contact Federal News Service at (202) 347-1400."
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