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Washington, Feb. 4 (CNA) U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that the United States has an obligation to help Taiwan maintain an adequate level of defense capability so that it can defend itself against any military threats.

In his first television interview since taking office last week, Powell declined to comment on whether the Bush administration is inclined to sell Aegis-equipped destroyers or other advanced weapons to Taiwan, saying only that the decision-making process will be "deliberate" and that the cross-strait situation will have to be taken into consideration.

Speaking on ABC's talk show "This Week", he said the United States has to "make sure that it remains strong in the region" because the American military presence is "sort of the flywheel that keeps the whole region in a rather stable situation".

Asked whether the new administration will sell Aegis-class destroyers or other advanced weapons systems to Taiwan, Powell said officials will examine what Taiwan has asked to purchase from the United States before the annual arms sales talks take place in the spring.

"We will make our decisions on individual weapons systems in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, the various communiques (between the United States and mainland China), as well as with what Congress has said with respect to the enhancement of Taiwan's defense capability," Powell said.

"But it'll be done in a way that is deliberate, with a full understanding of the implications of the effect of each one of these weapons systems sales on relations between Taiwan and mainland China", he added.

Beijing has warned Washington against selling the advanced warships to Taiwan, and mainland officials have privately warned that any such sales would trigger a strong reaction from Beijing.

Mainland Chinese officials have often cited a 1982 Sino-U.S. communique which they said restricts the continuation of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Quoting from the so-called "August 17 Joint Communique," the host of the "This Week" television program Sam Donaldson said the language suggests that the sale of Aegis destroyers would be "off-base".

Powell said, however, that the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act and the various Sino-U.S. communiques "suggest that we have an obligation to Taiwan to make sure that their level of defense capability remains constant over time and that they are in a position to defend themselves against any threats that might come their way".

"And so we will always be looking for that balance in our arms sales policy with respect to Taiwan," he added.

In addition to the Aegis-class destroyers, Taiwan is also seeking to purchase submarines and other military hardware.

Observers in Washington have attached great significance to what, if anything, the Bush administration decides to sell to Taiwan this year because this will be the first round of arms sales talks since the change in administrations in Washington and in Taipei. (By Jay Chen)