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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》Defense of Taiwan is US’ biggest challenge: analyst
By William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON
The defense of Taiwan is probably the most critical and enduring strategic challenge facing US security professionals today, Project 2049 Institute research fellow Ian Easton said on Saturday.
“No other flashpoint is as likely to see the world’s two strongest nations go to war,” Easton told the annual banquet meeting of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs.
Easton said that China was building up for the day when it could project “overwhelming violence” across the Taiwan Strait.
“The Chinese military’s No. 1 mission is the invasion of Taiwan — including a pre-emptive attack on US forces that would come to Taiwan’s aid,” he said.
Chinese military planners want to use Taiwan as a military base to threaten Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, he said.
Easton criticized Washington for only offering arms sales designed to avoid provoking Beijing.
“Taiwan deserves to have the best weapons systems the US sells, not the cheap stuff that doesn’t scare Beijing,” he said. “Having frequent, as well as high-quality sales, is incredibly important for the strategic message it sends.”
Easton said that arms sales needed to be regular and of high quality, and that the US should also help Taiwan build submarines and sell it new fighter jets.
“The US Department of Defense should be sending high-ranking officials to visit Taiwan, not just mid-ranking desk officers,” he said. “The Pacific Command should be sending its best admirals and generals to visit Taiwan, and learn about the battle space firsthand — our defense attache in Taipei should be a one-star general, not a colonel.”
At the same time, the US should be holding bilateral military exercises with Taiwan, and US Navy ships should make port calls at Keelung and Kaohsiung, he said.
Easton argued that the US should include Taiwan in the fight against terrorism, piracy and human trafficking, and that the FBI should have a legal attache in Taipei.
More should be done, he said, to work with Taiwan against the shared cyberwarfare threat and to jointly conduct disaster relief operations.
“I would submit that fear, not logic, is driving many decisions in Washington, but I am confident that is going to change,” Easton said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
