U.S. FIRM ABOUT FULFILLING OBLIGATIONS TO TAIWAN: STATE DEP'T
2004-04-02 12:21:53
Washington, March 1 (CNA) A U.S. State Department press officer reiterated Thursday that the United States still stands firm in fulfilling its obligations to help Taiwan meet its legitimate self-defense needs under the provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act.
Adam Ereli, deputy spokesman for public affairs at the State Department, made the comments while responding to media questions raised regarding the Pentagon's recent announcement of the sale to Taiwan of two long-range early warning radars. On March 30, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the sale of the radar equipment. "We will continue to assist Taiwan in meeting its legitimate self-defense needs in accordance with our obligations under the act," Ereli said.
He also stressed that the sale of early warning radars to Taiwan "is inherently defensive and that its sole purpose is to provide Taiwan with the ability to detect and react to missile attacks." "We believe that it will improve the overall security and defensive capability of Taiwan and that this sale does not affect the basic military balance in the region and is consistent with U.S. law and policies," Ereli added.
The deputy spokesman also said that Washington has not received any formal demarch from Beijing on the sale of the radar equipment to Taiwan.
(By Jay Chen and P.C.Tang)
Enditem/Li
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