TALKING TOUGH:Admiral Harry Harris said China’s missiles, radar installations, runways and jets are ‘changing the operational landscape in the South China Sea’

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 25, 2016
By: William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON

As China deploys fighter jets, missiles and radars across the South China Sea, the US is to continue supporting Taiwan’s security, a top US admiral told the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

“I believe China seeks hegemony in East Asia,” said Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command.

Emphasizing that China is militarizing the South China Sea, he said: “You’d have to believe in a flat Earth to think otherwise.”

In a survey of US relationships in the region, Harris said that free and fair democratic elections in Taiwan reflected “shared values” with the US.

“We continue supporting Taiwan’s security. Continued arms sales to Taiwan are an important part of that policy and help ensure the preservation of democratic government institutions,” he said.     [FULL  STORY]