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Washington, April 1 (CNA) A U.S. senator has urged the Bush administration to sell all the weapons systems that Taiwan has requested, stressing that increasing the preparedness of Taiwan's defense forces "will decrease the chances that the United States will need to become involved in a conflict in the Taiwan Straits, or that such a conflict will occur in the first place."

Addressing the Senate floor Friday, Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said that "not only do we need to sell Taiwan the necessary military equipment for defense against China, our defense officials and military personnel need to be able to work with their Taiwanese counterparts to ensure that they know how to use the equipment."

"Our long-term goal is to live in peace and prosperity with the Chinese people, as well as to promote democratic transition in that country. China's far-reaching ambitions in Asia, coupled with efforts to modernize and strengthen its military force, however, require the United States to exercise leadership," Kyl said.

He noted that there is no doubt that Communist China will and should play a larger role on the world stage in the coming years, but "the challenge before us is to deal with this emerging power in a way that enhances our security by dealing candidly and strongly with some of the troubling facts and trends. It is time to take a more clear-eyed approach to dealing with China."

The Clinton administration believed that Communist China could be reformed solely by the influence of the West. Unfortunately, Kyl said, this theory has not proved true, adding that Beijing's embrace of Western-style capitalism has not been accompanied by respect for human rights, the rule of law, true democratization, or a less belligerent attitude toward its neighbors.

"Indeed, serious problems with China have grown worse. And continuing to gloss over these problems for fear of disrupting the fragile U.S.-China relationship, primarily for trade reasons, only exacerbates the problems," emphasized the senator.

Kyl then quoted Secretary of State Colin Powell as saying in his confirmation hearing that "I believe it is in our best interest to seriously evaluate China's military strategy, plans for modernization of its People's Liberation Army, including the expansion of its ICBM capability, and buildup of forces opposite Taiwan. Let us not risk underestimating China's intentions or capabilities, possibly finding ourselves in the midst of a conflict we could have prevented." (by Nelson Chung)