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Bill Gertz, Inside the Ring, Washington Times

The Obama administration is backing away from a 2001 commitment to help Taiwan acquire submarines to defend the island from Chinese attack.

The Pentagon, in particular, is said to oppose the 13-year-old plan to help Taipei buy or build eight diesel electric subs over concerns of disrupting its high-priority military exchange program with China. The Chinese military cut ties to the Pentagon several times in recent years to protest U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and agreed to resume exchanges only if the administration adopted China’s concept of “new-type” relations that, for Beijing, includes gradually ending arms sales to Taiwan.

The administration, however, is bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide defensive arms to Taiwan to prevent a Chinese takeover. The U.S. military has been pressing Taiwan in recent months to do more to increase its defenses in the face of a large-scale buildup of warships, submarines, missiles and amphibious forces by China’s People’s Liberation Army. The PLA has deployed more than 1,200 missiles within range of Taiwan that could devastate the island in a surprise attack. …

“Like other navies in the region, Taiwan appears poised to contribute toward U.S. interests in regional security,” said Mark Stokes, a former Pentagon official who worked on China affairs. “Taiwan’s acquisition of new diesel electric submarines would enhance regional stability by providing a clear deterrent to potential [Chinese] force and interruption of sea lines of communication in the East China Sea, South China Sea and elsewhere in the region.” …

Added Rick Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center: “Despite its 30-year quest, no one has the guts to sell submarines to Taiwan.”

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