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Washington, March 22 (CNA) Senator Frank Murkowski on Wednesday expressed support for Republic of China President-elect Chen Shui-bian to visit the United States before he is sworn in.

If Chen wants to visit the United States, Murkowski said, there is no time like the present, although he did acknowledge that a similar trip five years ago enraged Beijing.

The Republican senator from Alaska, who greeted President Lee Teng-hui at the airport upon his US arrival in 1995 to deliver a speech at Cornell University, said: "I recognize it could cause a few ripples."

Murkowski said that if the State Department and the Clinton administration refuse to let Chen visit the United States, Congress will take action, including passing a resolution, to push for his visit.

At a news conference on Capital Hill, Murkowski strongly suggested that Chen be invited to make a US visit before he takes office in May, saying that "Chen has not been inaugurated so he doesn't come as head of state or head of the province."

Murkowski said a visit by Chen would help ease tension across the Taiwan Strait, accelerate cross-strait direct links and ease the US Congress' passage of the bill establishing a permanent normal trading partnership with mainland China by improving three-way relations in general.

On the proposed Taiwan Security Enhancement Act (TSEA), Murkowski said the act, an extension of Congressional concern regarding the situation in the Taiwan Strait, would be unnecessary if signs of a resumption of peaceful dialogue across the strait emerge.

Noting that he has always supported the US commitment to Taiwan's security as set forth in the Taiwan Relations Act, Murkowski said that if Congress discusses the TSEA now, it would only backfire and fuel cross-Taiwan Strait tension.

He added, however, that his stance does not mean that he has forsaken support for the TSEA. "It's simply a matter of timing, and I don't think right now is a proper time."

Murkowski has decided to attend Chen's inauguration in Taipei on May 20, saying that his support for Taiwan will not be altered simply because a new president was elected, even though the new leader is considered pro-independence. (By Herman Pan and Deborah Kuo)