Washington, July 13 (CNA) US Secretary of Defense William Cohen said in Beijing on Thursday that mainland China has not in any way give up its sovereign right to use force against Taiwan.
Cohen was responding to some earlier press reports that he has been given assurances by mainland officials that Beijing would not attack Taiwan.
Cohen is currently on a mainland visit. The Pentagon released the full text of his remarks made in a Beijing press conference on Thursday evening in an attempt to clarify those reports.
Cohen said his talks with senior mainland Chinese officials indicate that they do not in any way forsake the sovereign right to use force against Taiwan.
"But it's also clear from statements that have been made, it is not (mainland) China's intent to use force, but they reserve that right," Cohen noted.
For his part, Cohen said he had told mainland officials that the United States thinks the cross-Taiwan Strait issue is a political issue and a matter that must be resolved politically, not militarily.
Cohen said he has assured mainland officials that the United States is trying to work together to bring about a result that is in US interest, the mainland Chinese interest and that of the Taiwanese people.
"But if the statement indicated that they have, in fact, given up any right to use force in the future, that is incorrect," Cohen explained.
Asked about whether the Pentagon has made a decision on Taiwan's request for purchasing Aegis warships, Cohen said no decision has been made on the sale of an Aegis system to the Republic of China on Taiwan.
Cohen said the issue of arms sales to Taiwan is one of the reasons why the United States hopes that there can be a reduction in tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Cohen said he and many other Clinton administration officials believe that ROC President Chen Shui-bian has, in fact, offer some hope for cross-strait reconciliation.
"He has extended statements which, I believe, have shown some flexibility and there ought to be creative ways to take advantage of that flexibility to bring about a peaceful reconciliation (across the Taiwan Strait)," Cohen said, adding: "This is something that the United States strongly supports and endorses."
Cohen said he also reminded mainland officials that increased mainland Chinese military deployment against Taiwan would only add up to the pressure for the Taiwanese people to request further sophisticated hardware to defend Taiwan itself.
"We are seeking to reduce those kinds of tensions, and hopefully, we can achieve that so there can be a peaceful reconciliation. We do support the one-China principle; we do support the Three Communiques. As I've indicated at each and every meeting (with mainland officials,) we also support the Taiwan Relations Act and will continue to do so, but what we want to see is a peaceful reconciliation. We do not support Taiwan's quest for independence, and we think that there should be reconciliation brought about on a peaceful basis," Cohen said.
During his July 12-13 stay in Beijing, Cohen met with mainland President Jiang Zemin, Vice Premier Qian Qichen, Defense Minister Chi Haotian, Chief of General Staff Fu Quanyou and other senior mainland military officials. He will travel to Shanghai on Friday to continue his mainland visit. (By Jay Chen and Sofia Wu)
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