Congress Panel Wants To Boost U.S. Deterrence For Taiwan

A congressional panel on Wednesday called for "urgent measures" to strengthen US military deterrence in the Indo-Pacific against any risk of Chinese aggression against Taiwan, warning of increasing potential for a "military crisis," Miya Tanaka reported for Kyodo News.

Photo Insert: Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan

The annual report by the bipartisan US-China Economic and Security Review Commission also suggested that Japan, a close US ally that possesses "highly professional" defense forces, will have a key security role to play in a possible Taiwan contingency.

"Cross-Strait deterrence is in a period of dangerous uncertainty," the commission said in the paper, noting that "improvements in China's military capabilities have fundamentally transformed the strategic environment."

"China's increasingly coercive approach to Taiwan puts almost daily pressure on the cross-Strait status quo and increases the potential for a military crisis," it added.

To resist any resort to force that would jeopardize the security of the self-ruled democratic island, the panel urged Congress to authorize and fund the deployment of "large numbers" of anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles in the Indo-Pacific as well as efforts for better surveillance and reconnaissance in the East and South China seas.

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