The Taipei Times reports that the US may finally be coming around on the arms purchase, and may well drop the request for subs.The top US military commander in the Pacific said that Taiwan should upgrade its Patriot anti-missile defense batteries and buy other weapons, such as mines, that would help protect the country if China attacked.
Admiral William Fallon, head of the US Pacific Command, said buying such weaponry would be a more effective use of funds than buying more expensive, high-tech offensive weapons that the US offered to sell Taiwan four years ago.
Fallon told the Associated Press in a Friday interview at Pacific Command headquarters that defensive weapons would also have the benefit of being less provocative to China.
"As I take stock of the situation and have had an assessment of where we stand, it seems to me there are some things that would be much more useful than others in helping Taiwan better prepare its defenses," Fallon said.
The submarines must go! Mines are a good idea too.
PS: Fox News reports a quake last night while we were all abed. Yes, honey, the earth really did move.
[Taiwan] [China]
My understanding (and that is limited) is that the subs' main role would be to guard the Taiwanese harbors against Chinese mining.
ReplyDeleteI'd also strongly suggest that any Taiwanese action against Chinese export shipping would be a great boon in an actual conflict.
Actually, they should be ready to use the subs to mine Ningbo, HongKong, etc...
"coming to their senses" = "realizing Taiwan can't pass any decent law, so let's see what they can do..."
I'm guessing NOTHING gets through the KMT legislature.