• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Washington, Oct. 6 (CNA) In the worst case, conflict across the Taiwan Strait "could affect the future of the entire region for years to come, with everyone a major loser," a senior US official said Wednesday.

Calling the situation "perhaps the single most dangerous issue in Asia" in the coming decades, the official said the US role is to promote stability by maintaining the current framework governing relations between Washington, Beijing and Taipei.

While Kenneth Lieberthal, senior director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, stood by the existing framework, scholars went further and called on both Beijing and Taipei to show more flexibility.

During a discussion on the future of US-PRC relations, David Lampton, director of China Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), suggested that both sides "take the worst fear of the other off the table."

"I'd like to see them ... suspend the threats of either independence or force, and work on cooperation," he said.

The expert also said that the Beijing leadership has to come up with a formula that attracts the people of Taiwan.

"Deterrence can keep them from going independent but deterrence will never achieve unification for the Chinese people," he said.

For the United States, Lampton said, in addition to opposing the use of force by mainland China, Washington has to make it clear to Taiwan that it should not engage in "excessively provocative behavior."

Paul Wolfowitz, dean of the SAIS, agreed that mainland China should adopt a more positive approach and offer inducements to Taiwan rather than threats.

When asked whether Beijing would consider renouncing the use of force in exchange for a promise from Taiwan not to declare independence, the mainland China envoy to Washington did not give a direct answer.

Instead, Li Zhaoxing reiterated Beijing's position that the threat of military force is not aimed against the people of Taiwan and that there can be no compromise on the issue of sovereignty. (by Jay Chen)