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US on attack over Taiwan's defence
Concerned by China's rapid military buildup but not particularly anxious for closer strategic ties with Beijing, the Bush administration is insisting that Taiwan - the most likely future military flashpoint between the two countries - does more to defend itself or face reduced US support.

During a visit to China this week the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, restated US worries about Beijing's intentions - and the secrecy cloaking its military spending. "It raises some questions about whether China will make the right choices, choices that will serve ... regional peace and stability," he said.

But the biggest question for Washington concerns Taiwan, which China regards as a "renegade province" and which the US is legally bound to defend under the Taiwan Relations Act. US pressure on Taipei is being exerted less publicly but with growing forcefulness.
The main irritant is the internal political deadlock over a $10bn US arms sale that Washington is urging Taiwan to accept. But peace-building moves by the pro-reunification opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, which is pursuing a rapprochement with China in defiance of the independence-minded president, Chen Shui-bian, have also upset traditional US calculations.

"If Taiwan is not willing to properly invest in its own self-defence, why should we, the US, provide for it?" Edward Ross, a senior Pentagon official, asked in a speech at the US-Taiwan Business Council last month. "At a time when young American men and women are in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan - countries not nearly as developed or politically evolved as Taiwan - an increasing number of Americans are asking hard questions about how much we are willing to sacrifice for the security and democracy of others."

While not explicitly threatening to withdraw US guarantees, Mr Ross demanded that Taiwan increased its defence spending, "hardened" its military posture, and did "not simply rely on the US's capacity to address a threat in the Taiwan Strait".

Taiwanese officials play down the warnings, and ascribe the arms sale deadlock to political "bickering". "The US feels a bit upset about the arms sales. But it is also upset about the KMT relationship with China," a senior official said. "The US is not backing off. The US has no recourse but to defend Taiwan, and the same is true for Japan."
We like you guys, but we're not going to pay any price to defend you.
But the official conceded President Bush's outspoken support for Taiwan on taking office in 2001 had weakened as the administration sought ways to come to terms with China's rise.

Many Taiwanese worry that new weapons could upset the fragile status quo; others believe it is pointless to try to match Beijing's military might; and still others feel the money would be better spent on social programmes.
That last one right there: spend the money on social programs instead of defending yourselves, and it'll be a cold day in the South China Sea before you see the Seventh Fleet.
A recent poll reported in the Taipei Times indicated that 65% of male university students, who are subject to compulsory military service, "don't want to go to war with China".

Widening domestic divisions and US hectoring are producing contrary responses. One such response came from the former president and fierce advocate of independence, Lee Teng-hui. He said the main problem with the arms sale was that the defensive weapons on offer were not good enough. In his view, only serious military hardware will guarantee Taiwan's future. Another reason, perhaps, why Mr Rumsfeld's attempt to stop China building weapons and to sell arms to Taiwan looks likely to self-destruct.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-10-21
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=132767