Taiwan still the sorest point in fragile Sino-US relations

• Source: Global Times
• [22:40 November 25 2009]
• Comments

The stagnant military relations result from US arms sales to Taiwan, although it was explicitly stated in the "August 17, [1982] Communique" that "[the US] intends to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution."

But in the past 27 years the US has repeatedly failed to honor this commitment. The US has always used arm sales as a bargaining counter to pin down the Chinese mainland, and as bait to maintain its relations with Taiwan.

China cut o. military exchanges with the United States for months after the George W. Bush administration unveiled a $6.5 billion arms package for Taiwan in October 2008.

The US made these sales despite having promised in the "August 17 Communique" that "its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years."

The latest development was that Raymond Burghardt, Washington's de facto top diplomat in Taiwan, told Taiwanese authorities Tuesday that weapons sales would continue under Obama.

AFP reported early this week that supporters of Taiwan in the US Congress pushed for Obama to move toward selling arms to the island, despite this likely setting back warming US ties with China.

In Taiwan, secessionists and other pro-independence elements are still influential, and they need US weapons as a link to play the US against China.

Even the ruling party needs to assure its people and the opposition forces that arms from the US would give them sufficient strategic space.

All these ring negative alarms amid the warming ties between China and US. Cross-Straits relations have greatly improved and developed in recent years. Against this backdrop, the US should support peaceful development and stop its long-term policy of selling weapons to Taiwan.

No real bilateral strategic trust can be nurtured and deepened, as the two countries hoped, if the Obama administration does not make up its mind to change US's arms sales policy, which has always constituted an "untouchable" sensitive nerve in Sino-US relations. Until the bilateral military relations substantially improve, Sino-US ties will remain important but fragile.

The author is deputy managing editor of the Global Times. He can be reached at chenping@ globaltimes.com.cn