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Gates reaffirms no changes in U.S. policy on arms sales to Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

2010/06/07 22:04:40

By Tang Pei-chun and Sofia Wu

Singapore, June 6 (CNA) U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has reaffirmed that the United States policy on selling defensive weapons to Taiwan remains unchanged despite China's opposition.

In a speech delivered at a seminar on Asian security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore Saturday, Gates said arms sales to Taiwan "are nothing new." He also stressed that the U.S. had demonstrated in a very public way that it does not support independence for Taiwan.

"We strongly encourage the cross-Strait improvement in relations and perhaps a time will come when this issue will go away because of those improved relations, but we will maintain our obligations" under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), he said.

The TRA is the U.S. law that regulates relations with Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties.

Noting that China has done nothing to stop its military buildup "largely focused on Taiwan, " Gates said the U.S. was selling arms to Taiwan in response to that threat.

China has more than 1,000 short-range ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan and is also developing advanced weaponry ranging from anti-satellite weaponry and cyber-attack capabilities to more conventional fighter jets and long-range missiles, according to defense sources.

Addressing the seminar, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, Gates described China's repeated postponements of military-to-military exchanges because of the arms sales to Taiwan as counterproductive.

China canceled such exchanges after the U.S. announced a US$6.4 billion arms package to Taiwan in January.

"We need sustained and reliable military-to-military contacts at all levels that reduce miscommunication, misunderstanding and miscalculation, " Gates said. "There is a real cost to any absence of military-to-military relations." Gates originally planned to visit China after attending the Singapore seminar, but China rejected his travel plans without giving a reason. It was widely believed that China's refusal was related to its anger at the latest U.S. commitment to sell weapons to Taiwan.

Speaking on the same occasion, Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have been a major hurdle to the development China-U.S. military relations.

"For China, it has been a serious problem that has hindered our relations with the U.S. over the past three decades," Ma said.

Nevertheless, Ma said, China does not think that its military ties with the U.S. are broken. The two sides have just suspended high-level dialogue, while lower-level exchanges of visits, ministerial-level defense consultations and the bilateral maritime security meeting mechanism remain functional, he added.