Washington, Aug. 2 (CNA) The United States must stop parroting Beijing's "one China" claim and make clear that whether Taiwan politically rejoins mainland China is a decision for the people of Taiwan to make, continue to sell Taiwan defensive weapons and under no circumstances the United States will become involved militarily in an armed conflict across the Taiwan Straits, according to an American expert.
Ted G. Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Washington-based Cato Institute, wrote Monday in an Op-Ed article titled "Washington's Incoherent Policy on Taiwan" that the new Taiwan crisis triggered by President Lee Teng-hui's apparent abandonment of the "one China" principle and his insistence that Taipei-Beijing relations are to be conducted on a "state-to-state" basis showed that "US policy toward China is in a dangerous state of disarray."
There is a dangerous contradiction at the heart of the Clinton administration's policy. Even as President Clinton parrots Beijing's view that Taiwan has no right to statehood (or even limited international recognition), the president implies that the United States would come to Taiwan's rescue if the island were attacked. "The sending of such mixed signals virtually invites trouble," said Carpenter.
The expert continued that the unsettling reality is that "neither the administration nor the hard-line opposition seems capable of articulating a China policy that is simultaneously clear, realistic and prudent."
The United States should seek to maintain decent relations with the People's Republic of China, Carpenter said, "but US officials must stop giving undue deference to Beijing's 'one China' claims. Instead, Washington needs to articulate a new policy that includes the following elements:
1) The United States takes no position on the issue of whether there is one China, two Chinas, or one China - one Taiwan;
2) Whether Taiwan politically rejoins the mainland or maintains a separate political existence is properly a decision for the people of Taiwan to make;
3) The United States will continue to sell Taiwan defensive weapons as outlined in the Taiwan Relations Act; and
4) Under no circumstances will the United States become involved militarily if an armed conflict breaks out between the PRC and Taiwanese forces.
Carpenter concluded that "Such a policy would affirm the right of the Taiwanese people to determine their own political destiny. At the same time, it would put Taipei on notice that, if it rejects the 'one China' principle and proceeds down the path toward separatism and full independence, it must do so at its own risk."
(By Nelson Chung)
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