U.S. Hits Obstacles In Helping Taiwan Guard Against China By John Pomfret and Philip P. Pan:

The Bush administration has quietly embarked on an ambitious effort to restructure Taiwan's military and improve the island's ability to defend itself against China. But the U.S. plan is foundering because Taiwan's leaders are reluctant to foot the enormous bill and force change upon the island's highly politicized and conservative military, U.S. and Taiwanese officials said.

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U.S. officials said many Taiwanese officials, including President Chen Shui-bian, are reluctant to lock horns with the powerful military to push the reforms; others have not acknowledged that Taiwan needs to improve its war-fighting capabilities. Taiwanese government officials and legislators acknowledged the pace of change was glacial.

"It's like the end of the Qing dynasty when the emperors bought fancy weapons but there was no change in thinking," said Shuai Hua-min, a former army two-star general and one of the main advocates of military reforms here. "They don't care whether the weapons systems are useful or not. It's become purely political to show China how close Taiwan is to the United States."

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The slow pace of arms sales has led some U.S. officials to question Taiwan's commitment to its self-defense. U.S. officials have told the Taiwanese that President Bush's statement in April 2001 that the United States would do "whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself" did not mean Taiwan could stop upgrading its military and depend entirely on U.S. forces. In a speech before Taiwanese officials in February, Richard Lawless, a deputy assistant defense secretary, said Taiwan "should not view America's resolute commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as a substitute for investing the necessary resources in its own defense."

Some Taiwanese officials warn that too much American pressure risks a backlash from Taiwan -- with potentially serious ramifications for relations with China. Some Taiwanese military officers and officials now say that Taiwan cannot keep up with China's military buildup by purchasing defensive systems so it should develop an attack capability to deter China. Taiwan had a medium-range missile program that was scuttled, along with an earlier secret nuclear weapons program, after pressure from Washington.