Washington, Feb. 11 (CNA) US interests are better served by timely Senate consideration of the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act (TSEA), a senior US policy analyst said on Friday.
By voting before Taiwan's forthcoming presidential election, the Senate assures Taiwan's people that mainland China's military coercion will not be unnoticed or unchecked by the United States, said Stephen Yates of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation in an analysis titled "Time to Act on Taiwan's Security."
He noted that faced with Beijing's rebuke and President Bill Clinton's veto threat, some US senators have suggested not taking up the TSEA until after Taiwan's March 18 election. Many have expressed concern that it might upset consideration of granting mainland China permanent normal trade relations status.
However, Yates pointed out, US interests are better served by timely Senate consideration of the TSEA, which was passed by the House of Representatives with an overwhelming 341-70 vote on Feb. 1, for the following reasons:
-- Security supports democracy. By voting before Taiwan's presidential election, the Senate "assures Taiwan's people that they can exercise their democratic franchise, confident that China's military coercion is not going unnoticed or unchecked by the United States;"
-- Enhanced security leads to flexibility in the cross-Taiwan Strait dialogue. Arguments that enhancing Taiwan's security will encourage "moves toward (Taiwan's) independence" and a regional arms race "ignore the history of cross-strait dialogue, which progresses when Taiwan feels secure;" and
-- The TSEA will help, not hinder, passage of permanent normal trade relations with mainland China. It demonstrates that the United States will not relent on important security and political interests in pursuit of trade with mainland China.
Yates noted that as House majority leader Richard Armey (R-TX) said: "Friends of Taiwan should have no fear of our greater trade with China, just as those who want more trade with China should not object to us helping Taiwan. Both measures serve exactly the same end -- to advance the cause of freedom in East Asia."
The TSEA is largely a matter of the implementation of US law. "At its heart is the question of whether Congress will reclaim for itself a portion of its authority and responsibility under the Taiwan Relations Act. The TSEA advocates a form of implementation of the TRA, not a change in substance," stressed the analyst.
Yates concluded: "Clearly, the United States should enhance its own ability to determine and provide for Taiwan's self-defense needs. This is the purpose of the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act. The alternative -- Taiwan's total vulnerability to Chinese attack or total reliance on American intervention -- is unacceptable." (By Nelson Chung)
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