Advertisement

Updated October 3rd, 2021 at 14:48 IST

US commitment to Taiwan enduring since '70s: Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks

“Our goal is not to have any armed conflict, with China. It is to reduce tension and demonstrate a credible deterrent,” the US Deputy Defense Secretary said

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
US
Image: AP | Image:self
Advertisement

US has a “significant amount of capability” in the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii to tamp down any potential invasion of Taiwan, Deputy Defense Secretary of the United States Kathleen Hicks said on October 2 at an online forum held by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Hicks, on Saturday, stated that the US has commitments to Taiwan that are enduring since the 1970s and it is central to the United States to help the Taiwanese with their self-defence capabilities. 

Taiwan’s ability to defend itself effectively “is a game-changer in terms of that deterrent calculus for China,” the US Deputy Defense Secretary said, adding that the globe including the US has an awareness that the Taiwanese people have “demonstrated an ability to have a democracy. And we (United States) have an interest in ensuring democracies can flourish.” 

Hicks says US must be 'credible deterrent'

When asked if the US viewed China as a “pacing competitor” on the globe, Hicks said that Beijing was beginning to develop capabilities “in certain areas” that were competing very effectively with the US. In order to defend those interests, the US needs to ensure that in places where China has been growing in certain capability areas the US must “credibly deter against.”

“United States of America includes Hawaii, so we have a real reason to concern ourselves, let alone those treaty commitments we have, The Philippines and the others,” Hicks said at the CSIS address. 

“Our goal is not to have any conflict, armed conflict, with China. It is to reduce tension and demonstrate a credible deterrent,” Deputy Defense Secretary of the United States Kathleen Hicks said at a CSIS address. 

Citing the recently signed AUKUS security pact, Hicks stated that the US has an advantage in defence capabilities and can bring together the global powers, now that many nations were “increasingly concerned about what China’s trying to do.”

The United States, the UK and Australia have come together to sign a deal, this pact demonstrates how the opinions in the western Pacific are shifting, Hicks pointed out. Furthermore, Hicks said that the controversy around the pact also demonstrates how Europe’s stance with respect to the Chinese threat was also realigning as it does not interpret the seriousness of the Chinese regional influence. “Rhetoric of President Xi is as aggressive as his actual capabilities,” warned Hicks. 

Xi's 2027 transition a potential threat, China can invade Taiwan: US Navy Admiral 

Former Indo-Pacific commander and retired four-star admiral in the United States Navy Phil Davidson had earlier warned that the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s potential transition in 2027 might prove to be a "potential threat" to Taiwan. The former US armed forces service member had earlier “sent shockwaves globally” as he predicted a specific timeline on a possible Taiwan eventuality during his testimony to Congress in March 2021. 

The then admiral leading US Indo-Pacific Command had said that China could attempt to take control of Taiwan by the end of the decade, approximately within the ‘next six years’, as he stressed that the United States needed to “rethink” Taiwan’s strategic ambiguity in the Western Pacific. 

Advertisement

Published October 3rd, 2021 at 14:48 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Icra forecasts steady 10% growth in non-ferrous metal demand
a few seconds ago
Pooja Vastrekar
3 minutes ago
Congress Press Conference
14 minutes ago
Crew posters
20 minutes ago
Big Communication Gap Within the Congress: Sanjay Nirupam Targets Party Leadership | EXCLUSIVE
21 minutes ago
VST Tillers Tractors
21 minutes ago
High-net-worth women show a nuanced approach to wealth with interest in alternative investments and cautious risk tolerance.
22 minutes ago
Shreyas Iyer
27 minutes ago
France has approached 46 countries for the possible provision of over 2,000 police officers and several military personnel.
40 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo