Washington, March 3 (CNA) US Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) warned Communist China Friday against its latest threat to invade Taiwan, saying Beijing would face consequences far greater than anything they might gain from such an action.
In an interview on the NBC "Today" program, McCain pointed out that "the one thing the Chinese have to understand is if they commit aggression against Taiwan, the consequences will be far greater than anything they might gain from it. It would be terribly destabilizing and harmful to everything in the region, which becomes more and more important to the United States of America."
When asked weather the latest Communist threat against Taiwan should lead to the sale of such US weapons as Aegis destroyers and certain missile systems to Taiwan, McCain said he would first solicit recommendations from the Pentagon and the State Department as to whether the United States should sell them to Taiwan or not.
"More importantly, what I'd do is spend a lot of money to develop the sea-based missile defense system so we could put our ships in international waters in the area if they were threatened. So that might remove the requirement for the Taiwanese to have some of that equipment. I wouldn't give them blanket approval; of course not," added the former US Navy fighter pilot.
During a Republican primary debate in Los Angeles on Thursday, McCain said Taiwan should also observe the long-standing US "one China" policy, which calls for peaceful reunification, and not seek independence from China because there has been a strategic ambiguity in the US policy.
"But the person who destroyed the strategic ambiguity was President Clinton when he went to China in 1998 and called Jiang Zemin and the Chinese his strategic partner. And he destroyed the delicate balance of ambiguity which is causing many of these problems now, which is again an example of the fecklessness of the Clinton foreign policy," noted the senator.
Texas Governor George W. Bush also warned Beijing in the Los Angeles debate that "what the Chinese need to assume is that if they violate the `one China' policy.....which has clearly said that the United States expects there to be a peaceful resolution between China and Taiwan, if they decide to use force, the United States must help Taiwan defend itself."
"And it's important for the Chinese to recognize that our relationship is going to change from one of strategic partner to one of competitor," Bush added. And he reminded Taiwan that a `one China' policy is important for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait disputes and "the role of the United States is to use our prestige in the world to make sure that policy remains intact." (By Nelson Chung)
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