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Taiwan needs pragmatic defense strategy: U.S. academic

ROC Central News Agency

2008-05-06 19:57:18

    Taipei, May 6 (CNA) Taiwan needs a pragmatic defense strategy to create greater collaboration with the United States and ease concern in the U.S. about Taiwan's defense approach, a U.S. academic said Tuesday in Taipei. "Taiwan needs to follow through on pragmatic defense policies, which would ease concerns in the U.S., in the Congress and elsewhere about Taiwan's defense approach, " said Robert Shutter in a digital video conference held by the American Institute in Taiwan titled "U.S.- Taiwan Relations in a Time of Political Change."

    He added that if Taiwan could do that, it would lead to greater collaboration between Taiwan and various segments in the U.S. government including the military and Congress.

    On the sale of F-16 C/D fighters to Taiwan, Shutter said it would be useful if Taiwan could work constructively on the Bush administration to persuade it that Taiwan has an effective defense strategy and that the advanced jet fighters are important to that strategy.

    He contended that if the sale is not approved before the Bush administration hands over power to the new government, it will be much harder for the new U.S. administration to approve such a sale. "The reason being is that pressure from the People's Republic of China will be very strong because they want to be assured of the orientation of the new U.S. administration and will be very sensitive to actions the U.S. takes, more sensitive than it would be with the Bush administration," he said.

    Taiwanese lawmakers and the military are looking forward to purchasing 66 F-16 C/D fighters from the United States, despite their disagreement over why the proposed deal, reportedly agreed to by Washington in 2006, has failed to materialize.

    Deputy Defense Minister Ko Cheng-heng recently told a meeting of the legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee that premature exposure of the deal and pressure from Beijing are the most likely reasons why the U.S. government has hesitated in giving the go-ahead for the sale.

    But it has also been widely reported that the State Department's opposition to the F-16 sale originally stemmed from the Legislative Yuan's failure to approve spending on a broader package of arms sales that Bush offered Taiwan in 2001.

    Alan Romberg, former deputy spokesman of the U.S. State Department, said he agreed with Shutter's remarks that Taiwan should adopt a pragmatic defense strategy.

    Speaking in his capacity as senior distinguished fellow of the Stimson Center, Romberg said Taiwan needs to follow a defense strategy that is persuasive and to put its arms purchases in that context.

    However, he expressed a different view from Shutter to the F-16 sale. "Clearly, Taiwan needs aircraft, but there are other options, " Romberg said. "The first step for Taiwan and for President-elect Ma Ying-jeou's administration is to determine what it wants to do and then figure out what it needs to do that."

    He added that defense issues are not only about weapons. "There are all sorts of things that can make Taiwan's defensive capability stronger, such as training," he said.

(By Rachel Chan)

ENDITEM/J