by Jack Ray » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:43 am
Rep. Skelton Foresees Trouble Over Taiwan
By Philip Dine, Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 5, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Ike Skelton, the top House member on military affairs, has returned from a visit to China alarmed about the prospect of a U.S.-Chinese armed conflict over Taiwan.
Skelton, D-.Mo., led a congressional delegation to China that had nearly unprecedented access to top Chinese generals and their military equipment. He said Chinese officials made it clear that they were prepared to act if Taiwan's president followed through on his threats to push a referendum item on the ballot authorizing him to seek membership for Taiwan at the United Nations.
"They mentioned it several times," Skelton said in an interview Tuesday. "They're very concerned. They're just adamantly against that."
Asked if the message was that China would take military action against Taiwan if that happened, Skelton said, "Yes. I don't know when, I don't know how, but yes, I did get that sense."
China claims that the breakaway island is part of China and that China has the right to deal with the situation as an internal matter; the United States has long said it would defend Taiwan against aggressive action by the mainland.
Skelton said he told the Chinese that the U.S. government accepted the one-China position, but that it also had long been the U.S. position that it would defend Taiwan.
"Then what, I don't know. That's what really worries me," said Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "Right now, we've bitten off a lot in the Middle East. Our military, especially our Army and Marines, are stretched thin. We're on the verge of having a broken Army. To take on anything else would be very difficult."
James Carafano, a military expert at the Heritage Foundation, said Skelton was focusing attention on a legitimate concern.
"The way to guarantee an accidental conflict is to ignore the possibility of an accidental conflict," Carafano said. He added that it was important that China's leaders "hear the message loud and clear" that it would be "a massive strategic misjudgment" to assume that Taiwan would be "a free lunch," he said.
U.S. officials have increasingly worried in recent years about the military buildup in China, the world's most populous nation.
Skelton said he was less concerned about the buildup.
"They point out that it's only one-tenth of our defense budget; however, I have questions about how transparent that is. ... But I came away generally pleased with their openness."
[b]Rep. Skelton Foresees Trouble Over Taiwan[/b]
By Philip Dine, Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 5, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Ike Skelton, the top House member on military affairs, has returned from a visit to China alarmed about the prospect of a U.S.-Chinese armed conflict over Taiwan.
Skelton, D-.Mo., led a congressional delegation to China that had nearly unprecedented access to top Chinese generals and their military equipment. He said Chinese officials made it clear that they were prepared to act if Taiwan's president followed through on his threats to push a referendum item on the ballot authorizing him to seek membership for Taiwan at the United Nations.
"They mentioned it several times," Skelton said in an interview Tuesday. "They're very concerned. They're just adamantly against that."
Asked if the message was that China would take military action against Taiwan if that happened, Skelton said, "Yes. I don't know when, I don't know how, but yes, I did get that sense."
China claims that the breakaway island is part of China and that China has the right to deal with the situation as an internal matter; the United States has long said it would defend Taiwan against aggressive action by the mainland.
Skelton said he told the Chinese that the U.S. government accepted the one-China position, but that it also had long been the U.S. position that it would defend Taiwan.
"Then what, I don't know. That's what really worries me," said Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "Right now, we've bitten off a lot in the Middle East. Our military, especially our Army and Marines, are stretched thin. We're on the verge of having a broken Army. To take on anything else would be very difficult."
James Carafano, a military expert at the Heritage Foundation, said Skelton was focusing attention on a legitimate concern.
"The way to guarantee an accidental conflict is to ignore the possibility of an accidental conflict," Carafano said. He added that it was important that China's leaders "hear the message loud and clear" that it would be "a massive strategic misjudgment" to assume that Taiwan would be "a free lunch," he said.
U.S. officials have increasingly worried in recent years about the military buildup in China, the world's most populous nation.
Skelton said he was less concerned about the buildup.
"They point out that it's only one-tenth of our defense budget; however, I have questions about how transparent that is. ... But I came away generally pleased with their openness."