TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The United States could utilize its logistics agreement with Taiwan to counter China's escalating military threats to the island, according to Trey Meeks, a senior defense fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Meeks recently discussed this strategy with the Voice of America (VOA), highlighting the potential of the U.S.-Taiwan Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA).
Meeks told VOA that the ACSA could deter China by allowing American military jets to refuel in Taiwan, thereby signaling U.S. resolve. He further suggested that the U.S. could strategically respond to Chinese aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait median line by deploying fighter jets or U.S. Coast Guard vessels in Taiwan.
However, Yang Tai-yuan (楊太源), a researcher at Tamkang University's Center for Advanced Technology (淡江大學整合戰略與科技中心), cautioned that China might misinterpret such actions. He expressed concerns that China could view these moves as the U.S. establishing a logistics base in Taiwan, which could exacerbate threats to the island.
Precedents for U.S. military landings in Taiwan do exist. In 2021, a U.S. aircraft delivered COVID-19 vaccines, and in 2022, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport (台北松山機場) on a U.S. Air Force C40C. Meanwhile, Chinese military aircraft frequently breach Taiwan's airspace, prompting increased U.S. scrutiny.
The U.S. Department of Defense's 2024 report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China, reported by VOA on Dec. 23, underscores China's growing incursions across the Taiwan Strait median line as a calculated attempt to "erode long-standing norms in and around Taiwan."
