Washington, Feb. 11 (CNA) The Washington Times has reported that the U.S. Pentagon has been gradually making moves to increase its military force in locations near mainland China in order to be better prepared in case military conflict were to break out in the Taiwan Strait.
The "Pentagon Insider" column in the Washington Times quoted a U.S. Pacific Submarine Fleet spokesman as reporting that the U.S. Navy will deploy three submarines to Guam next year so as to be able to better cope with any crisis that may break out.
The Washington Times reported on other days that Representative Robert Underwood (D-Guam) has revealed that the Pentagon has decided to appropriate a sum to improve the Guam Port facilities so as to berth the submarines.
The Washington Times reported last August that the U.S. Air Force has planned to deploy cruise missiles in Guam, leading Beijing to lodge a protest with U.S. authorities.
The report also quoted an intelligence source as saying that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has already compiled a list of U.S. companies which have maintained business relations with the Beijing authorities.
At least some 300 U.S. companies have not only had close ties with Beijing military authorities, but have also been used by the mainland Chinese authorities to cover its spying activities and information collection activities, the report said.
The U.S. Congress passed a resolution in 1999 asking the Clinton administration to investigate how many U.S. companies have business relations with Beijing. The administration turned down the request on the grounds that Beijing had ordered its military to pull out from mainland China's business sector. (By Jay Chen & Ed Chen)
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