Tracking Number: 241682
Title: "F-16 Sale to Taiwan to Bolster Peace and Stability."
The State Department said September 3 that President Bush's decision to authorize the sale of up to 150 F-15 military aircraft to Taiwan is designed to enhance Taiwan's sense of security while contributing to stability on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. (920903)
Author: DYBVIK, RUSSELL E (USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date: 19920903
Text:
F-16 SALE TO TAIWAN TO BOLSTER PEACE AND STABILITY
(In keeping with spirit of 1982 communique) (730)
By Russell Dybvik
USIA Diplomatic Correspondent
Washington -- President Bush's decision to authorize the sale of up to 150 F-16 military aircraft to Taiwan is designed to enhance Taiwan's sense of security while contributing to stability on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, the State Department said September 3.
At a news briefing, acting spokesman Joseph Snyder acknowledged that the People's Republic of China protested the planned sale in a September 2 meeting between Vice Foreign Minister Liu Huaqiu and U.S. Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy in Beijing. He said the protest paralleled a public statement the Chinese government released in Beijing September 2 which denounced the proposed sale.
"We hope that China will take into consideration the defensive nature of these aircraft and their own recent acquisition of advanced fighter aircraft, the decline of Taiwan's air force as F-5s and F-104s have gone out of service, and the president's strong commitment to the U.S.-China relationship," the acting spokesman told reporters.
Snyder said Bush's decision to approve the sale of "F-16 aircraft configured for defensive purposes" to Taiwan followed a careful review and "satisfies obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide defense articles and services to Taiwan.
"It also advances the central goal of the 1982 U.S.-China communique on arms sales to Taiwan, promoting cross-strait peace and stability," the acting spokesman asserted.
Under the communique, he noted, "one of the things we undertook was to maintain the quality of Taiwan's air force. It's reached the point where it's impossible to maintain those older aircraft and the new ones will be sold to them in line with the same goal that we pursued during this period, to maintain stability."
At the same time, Snyder acknowledged it was not his contention that strategic considerations were the sole reason for the proposed sale. "No one has ever said that they were the sole reason for the sale," he said. "But we're confident that what we have done is fully in keeping with the spirit and the letter of the communique."
The United States has informed the Chinese government that William Clark, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, "is prepared to discuss our overall relations as well as the president's decision to authorize the sale of F-16 aircraft to Taiwan" when he is in Asia next week, Snyder said, adding that "arrangements for a stop in China are not yet final."
Clark will also stop briefly in Japan to discuss topics of bilateral, regional and international concern en route to Bangkok where he will represent the United States at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting September 10-11.
Under questioning, Snyder told reporters that "this sale, like previous sales, has given Taiwan the confidence and sense of security which has permitted the dramatic improvement in their relations with the PRC which we've witnessed over the last decade.
"In the last few years, after decades of confrontation, great strides have been made in reducing tensions between Taipei and Beijing. During this period, the U.S. has provided Taiwan with sufficient defensive capabilities to sustain the confidence it needs to reduce these tensions. That same sense of security has underpinned Taiwan's dramatic evolution toward democracy."
The president's decision "does not change the commitment of this administration to the three communiques of the People's Republic of China," Snyder declared. "We keep our word, our one-China policy, our recognition of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China."
Asked about China's threat to withdraw from international arms control efforts aimed at curbing the proliferation of dangerous weapons, particularly in the Middle East, Snyder said "the planned F-16 sale cannot be compared to the sort of massive destabilizing transfers which the president's initiative seeks to end. Such transfers can only add to the volatility of the Middle East as opposed to this sale, which we believe helps to contribute to stability on both sides of the Taiwan Straits."
The United States believes the Chinese have been "abiding" by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) since Beijing agreed to its constraints. "They have agreed to adhere to the provisions of the MTCR and they have done so. That's our judgment lately," Snyder said.
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File Identification: 09/03/92, POL411; 09/03/92, EPF423; 09/03/92, EUR408; 09/03/92, NEA413; 09/04/92, AEF509; 09/04/92, LDP510
Product Name: Wireless File
Product Code: WF
Keywords: MILITARY AIRCRAFT; ARMS TRANSFERS; TAIWAN/Defense & Military; TAIWAN-US RELATIONS/Policy; CHINA-US RELATIONS/Policy; SECURITY MEASURES; BUSH, GEORGE/Foreign Relations: East Asia & Pacific
Thematic
Codes: 1EA; 1DE
Target Areas: EA; EU; NE; AR; AF
PDQ Text Link: 241682
USIA Notes: *92090311.POL
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