U.S. FORCES WELCOMED, BUT NOT EXPECTED IN CROSS-STRAIT CONFLICT
ROC Central News Agency
2007-04-26 18:03:48
Taipei, April 26 (CNA) Defense Minister Lee Jye said Thursday that it is not within the Ministry of Defense's assessment whether U.S. forces will come to Taiwan's aid in the event of military conflict across the Taiwan Strait.
Saying that the Republic of China military will defend the country independently without depending on any outside support, Lee said the U.S. forces would be welcomed if the United States is willing to extend a helping hand, but that Taiwan will never harbor that kind of expectation.
Lee made the remarks in an interpellation session at the Legislative National Defense Committee, during which opposition Kuomintang Legislator Su Chi asked Lee about the Defense Ministry's countermeasures to the Chinese military's "lean and mean, limited but precise" warfare mindset.
The defense minister responded that the ROC military has the same mindset, adding that "we have always planned and prepared based on the tactical targets that have been maintained by the Chinese military."
As to the design of the annual Han Kuang Exercise program, Lee said, the military has taken drill policies against the worst-case scenario in order to hone the armed forces' combat ability to handle the most undesirable situations.
In response to Su's accusation that the war games conducted by the military have been tampered with politically, Lee said the military has kept its political neutrality and has allowed no "backstage manipulation."
(By Deborah Kuo)
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