STEADFAST:‘It’s not just Taiwan anymore, but it certainly includes Taiwan,’ the US secetary of defense said in an assessment of China’s threat to the region
Taipei Times
By: William Lowther / Staff Reporter in Washington
China’s recent moves to militarize the South China Sea do not threaten 
Washington’s ability to defend Taiwan, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter sai
“Our treaty obligations to Taiwan are very strong — we’re constantly adjusting them,” Carter testified before the US House Committee on Appropriations.
Committee chairman Harold Rogers asked Carter if China’s recent actions — “procuring aircraft carriers, submarines, amphibious assault capabilities, making territorial claims to shoals and reefs in the South and East China Seas” — threatened the US’ ability to “live up” to its treaty obligations to Taiwan.
Carter replied: “Well, no.”
“Obviously, the more the threat grows from China, the more we have to adjust on both our operational approach and our technical approach,” he said. [FULL STORY]
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