U.S. Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command Phil Davidson (top right) and Indian Navy Chief Singh (top left) attended the Raisina Dialogue in India via video message today (14) and spoke about the U.S. military’s commitment to assisting Taiwan in self-defense and improving Taiwan’s military capabilities in the face of the Chinese Communist threat.
Phil Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated U.S. policy toward Taiwan and emphasized that the United States will assist Taiwan in self-defense and focus on improving Taiwan’s military strength when attending the Raisina Dialogue in India via video message today (14).
Davidson and Indian Navy Chief Karambir Singh attended the Raisina Dialogue’s “Intense Stirring in the Indo-Pacific” session via video link.
As Davidson had predicted that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might take action against Taiwan in the next six years, and as the CCP’s military aircraft and warships intensified their efforts to disturb Taiwan, the moderator, Jagopalan, director of the Center for Security Strategy and Science and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, said that the Chinese government’s efforts to improve the security situation in the region would be a major challenge. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, director of the Center for Security Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, raised with him issues related to the gradual expansion of the Chinese Communist Party’s threat to Taiwan.
Davidson said the U.S. supports a peaceful solution across the Taiwan Strait and assists Taiwan in defending itself against military threats from Beijing in accordance with U.S. China policy and the Taiwan Relations Act.
To assist Taiwan in its self-defense, Davidson noted that the U.S. is focused on improving Taiwan’s military forces and that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is committed to promoting joint interoperability, training, readiness and professional development with Taiwan’s military.
Davidson mentioned that the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in diplomatic isolation, economic repression and military threats against Taiwan globally.
In the face of the CCP’s expansion of provocative military activities in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, South China Sea and the Sino-Indian border in recent years, Davidson criticized aggressive CCP naval operations and asymmetric activities that undermine the rules-based order of the Indo-Pacific region and pose a significant challenge.
Davidson argued that the Indo-Pacific region is facing competition from Beijing’s vision of closed and authoritarian and liberal and open Indo-Pacific concepts.
He said the Chinese Communist Party is using the current 2019 coronavirus disease (Chinese Communist Virus, COVID-19, Wuhan pneumonia) outbreak to increase military aggression across the Indo-Pacific region with the intention of undermining international law and norms.
Davidson noted that 2/3 of the world’s shipping vessels travel through the Indo-Pacific waters, and it is important to maintain the freedom and openness of the Indo-Pacific. The quadrilateral security dialogue between the United States, India, Australia and Japan is a diamond in the rough for the democracies of the Indo-Pacific region, sending a strong signal of support for a rules-based order.
Beijing, he said, is seeking to replace the existing rules-based order, giving Chinese (communist) law precedence over global law.
The Quadripartite Security Dialogue began as an advisory group but has grown organically, Singh said, adding that the four navies have been holding bilateral and other forms of exercises for some time, and there is a high degree of operational coordination among the four navies, so we can create a plug-and-play mechanism if the opportunity arises.
Speaking about the frequent activities of Chinese naval vessels in the Indian Ocean and the challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region, Singh said it is not surprising that the Chinese navy is in the Indian Ocean and operating in the Indian Ocean because of Beijing’s growing energy trade, markets and resource needs.
Singh noted that the Chinese Communist Navy has the financial resources and intentions, and that the Indian Navy will continue to monitor the development of the Chinese Communist Navy.
In response to questions about the CCP’s development of aircraft carriers, Singh argued that the CCP Navy wants to replicate the U.S. Navy’s carrier battle group, but that it takes time to develop carriers.
Davidson said the CCP has two carriers, the Liaoning (CV-16) and the Shandong (CV-17), and is building a third. The U.S. believes that the Chinese navy will increase its influence in the Indian Ocean region in the coming years and will operate in the Indian Ocean in the next few years.
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