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Taiwan
A central feature of the Pentagon’s strategic pivot to Asia is a rebalancing of the military’s global force posture. The Navy, for example, is planning to deploy some 60 per cent of its ships to this region, including forward basing a number of its new Littoral Combat Ships. The naval and air base
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Date:
6/26/2012
The Pentagon's recently enunciated Asia-Pacific posture has focused attention on the military needs of U.S. friends and allies in the Western Pacific. Because the U.S. has relatively few bases there and is operating thousands of miles from home, it must rely on local partners to carry much of the
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Date:
5/25/2012
Josh Rogin of The Cable recently reported that the Obama Administration may be about to reverse its decision not to sell new F-16s to Taiwan. Last fall, the administration, responding to repeated requests by the Taiwanese government asking for approval to acquire more advanced F-16 C/Ds to
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Date:
4/30/2012
Defense News reports today that the Obama Administration will turn down Taiwan's request to purchase 66 new F-16 fighters, aircraft the island nation says it needs to counter a regional military buildup by the People's Republic of China. China has challenged the legitimacy of Taiwan's government
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Date:
8/15/2011
Responding to intensifying Congressional pressure, including a hold on the nomination of William Burns to be her deputy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has promised a decision by October 1 on Taiwan’s request to buy 66 new F-16 fighters. For more than five years, Taiwan’s request for the additional
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Date:
7/25/2011
Imagine you were a Chinese leader in Beijing trying to gauge U.S. resolve, and this is what you saw. Despite decades of currency manipulation by China that has destroyed millions of U.S. jobs, Washington declines to label Beijing a currency manipulator. Despite Chinese theft of intellectual property
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Date:
6/9/2011
It seems as if the only thing a majority in the U.S. Senate can agree on is that they do not like any of the proposed budget plans. That is, until the subject of the sale of F-16s to Taiwan came up. In a rare demonstration of bipartisanship, and good sense, the co-chairs of the Senate Taiwan Caucus
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Date:
5/31/2011
Over the past several years the U.S. government has pursued a policy of aggressively promoting the sale of advanced military equipment to the Middle East and South Asia. Just last year the administration agreed to a massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia involving some 84 F-15 fighters, Apache and Black
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Date:
5/13/2011
A key aspect of U.S. foreign and security policy is to build the capacity of partner nations to undertake their own defense. The importance of pursuing this goal is clearly demonstrated by the air campaign in Libya. Of the 15 nations other than the United States participating in the Libyan operation,
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Date:
4/4/2011
The Obama Administration has acquired an unfortunate reputation for neglecting U.S. allies and not standing up to troublemakers. This year the administration will have a number of chances to improve its image and at the same time enhance U.S. relations with friends and allies. How, you ask? The
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Date:
2/18/2011
The military balance across the Taiwan Straits appears to be moving inexorably against Taiwan. China continues to expand its array of ballistic missiles pointed at the island. The People’s Liberation Army is rapidly expanding its Navy with five new classes of submarines and a variety of surface
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Date:
7/28/2010
On Friday, a letter was delivered to the White House calling on the Obama Administration to move forward with the sale of F-16 fighters to Taiwan. In a demonstration of true bipartisanship 136 members of the House including more than 50 Democrats signed the letter. The letter described Taiwan’s
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Date:
5/18/2010
President Obama has a problem. Well, he has many but this one is his arms sales strategy, particularly in East Asia. On the one hand, the United States has major security interests in the region as well as very clear commitments to friends and allies. In addition, the Obama Administration has made
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Date:
2/18/2010