WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Bolstering Taiwan’s self-defenses is an “urgent task” and an essential feature of deterring China, the Pentagon’s top official for Asia said on Wednesday.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner made the remarks in testimony at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
“In addition to the provision of defensive arms and services to Taiwan, the department remains committed to maintaining the capacity of the United States to resist the resort to force or other forms of coercion that may jeopardize the security of the people on Taiwan,” Ratner said.
(Reporting by Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
