U.S. and Taiwan (2009)

STATEMENT OF
ADMIRAL TIMOTHY J. KEATING, U.S. NAVY
COMMANDER
U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND
BEFORE THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
ON U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND POSTURE
MARCH 24, 2009

INTRODUCTION

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Our engagement and relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC) continues to mature. In July, USPACOM hosted the Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region whose responsibilities include the South China Sea and support operations in the Taiwan Strait. We enjoyed a productive visit and developed a relationship that I hope to strengthen in the coming year. Recently, our Senior Enlisted Advisor led a delegation of Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) to the PRC to develop a relationship through NCO engagement. In October, his counterparts from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made a reciprocal visit to USPACOM.

Improving the interaction between USPACOM and China's armed forces is critical to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and reassures our regional allies, partners and friends. While cautiously optimistic, we seek a mature, constructive relationship with our Chinese counterparts. Through cooperation and candor we aim to reduce the chances of miscalculation, increase mutual understanding, and encourage cooperation in areas of common interest.

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PARTNERSHIP: Northeast Asia

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People's Republic of China. Our policy toward China and Taiwan is based on our one China policy, the three joint U.S. -- China Communiqués, and the Taiwan Relations Act.

Our military-to-military interaction with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) fell short of expectations in 2008. This year's engagement was impacted by the Chinese prioritization of Olympic security and their reaction to the U.S. announcement of arms sales to Taiwan in October. I was able to visit China twice before the Olympics and found my discussions with their senior military leaders generally candid. Overall though, we saw little change in PRC willingness to allow port visits in China, reciprocate a mid-level officer exchange, or conduct pragmatic interactions such as safety issues in the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) talks -- the activities USPACOM views as most useful in reducing the potential for miscalculation and misunderstanding between our forces. The unlawful and dangerous behavior exhibited by Chinese vessels against unarmed U.S. special mission ships lawfully operating in the East and South China Seas underscores the importance of these types of interactions.

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Taiwan. The foundation of our relationship with Taiwan is based on common democratic values and commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in the Western Pacific. In accordance with legislation and policy, the USPACOM relationship with Taiwan is "unofficial." The USPACOM relationship with Taiwan makes available advice, training, and support for Congressionally-approved equipment necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. This unofficial relationship results in a range of restrictions on our military-to-military interaction; however, we still maintain a robust engagement schedule. USPACOM and its service components provide a wide range of training and assessment activities including support to Taiwan's annual HAN KUANG (HK) exercise.

President MA Ying-jeou's Administration has significantly reduced cross-Strait tension by following a status quo oriented policy of "3 no's" -- no unification, no independence, and no use of force -- and by working with China to expand cross-Strait ties in such areas as trade, travel and finance. Military challenges include the rapidly increasing military capabilities of the PRC; and Taiwan's goal of making a transition to an all-volunteer force by 2014. Taiwan continues to balance future capabilities with immediate defense needs, such as hardening, readiness, and sustainability.

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PRESENCE

Our current level of force presence and posture is essential to maintain stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Our presence reassures our allies and partners and dissuades those who would threaten the security of the region. We will sustain our warfighting readiness and credible combat power through programs that support training, education, and quality of life for USPACOM personnel.

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Enlisted Leader Development -- Partner Nation Enlisted Development. We place a premium on developing the enlisted leaders of partner nations in the Asia-Pacific. To that end, we are assisting selected militaries as they work to create a professionally-committed, competent, and empowered enlisted force. The operational success across the full spectrum of security interests of these nations is enhanced through professional enlisted forces that directly contribute to the struggle against violent extremism, global peacekeeping initiatives, and humanitarian assistance. For example, we are currently supporting the transformation efforts of Indonesia, Republic of the Philippines, Mongolia and Taiwan.

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