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Washington, Oct. 26 (CNA) For the United States, enhancing Taiwan's security, rather than increasing its vulnerability, is most conducive to peace and stability as well as freedom and prosperity for both sides of the Taiwan Straits, stressed an American China expert Tuesday.

Stephen Yates, senior policy analyst in the Asian Studies Center at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, wrote in an analysis titled "Why Taiwan's Security Needs To Be Enhanced," that Taiwan's security is still threatened by communist China's escalating military modernization and buildup across the Taiwan Strait because America is failing to faithfully implement the legislative intent of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

He pointed out that the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act, cosponsored by Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), calls on the US government to recognize Taiwan's changing defense needs in light of mainland China's determined military modernization and the more general revolution in military affairs from which Taiwan is diplomatically isolated.

The TRA instructs the US government to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability, but today Taiwan clearly is at a military disadvantage, noted Yates. Beijing has a 65 to 4 advantage in submarines and a 4,500 to 400 numerical advantage in aircraft, an edge increased by its acquisition of advanced foreign technology primarily from Russia, but also from Israel and the United States.

Taiwan will never be communist China's military equal, but parity with communist China is not Taiwan's objective and it should not be the objective of the United States. Nevertheless, "the US remains obliged under the Taiwan Relations Act to sell Taiwan defense articles and systems based solely on Taiwan's defense needs," Yates wrote.

He added that because of Beijing's overwhelming hardware advantage, emphasis on missile modernization, and a willingness to use missiles to intimidate Taiwan, "Taiwan needs to increase its reliance on high technology, including missile defense. The alternative is near total vulnerability or total reliance on US intervention."

Yates said American policy-makers should discount arguments warning that enhancing Taiwan's security will encourage it to move toward independence and a regional arms race. In his opinion, such alarmist views ignore the history of cross-strait dialogue which has progressed at times when Taiwan has felt secure. (By Nelson Chung)