Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

U.S. STICKS TO OBLIGATION UNDER TRA

ROC Central News Agency

2005-03-20 16:12:06

    Washington, March 19 (CNA) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated in Tokyo Saturday that Washington will continue to stick to its obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

    She also said that the United States will maintain its one-China policy and oppose any unilateral change to the status quo by either side of the Taiwan Strait.

    Rice, who is visiting Japan, made the comments in an address at Sophia University in Tokyo. The full text of her speech was released by the State Department the same day.

    Pointing out that the United States has reason to welcome the rise of China as a confident, peaceful and prosperous country, Rice said that Washington also wants China as " a global partner, able and willing to match its growing capabilities to its international responsibilities."

    However, she admitted that some issues, particularly Taiwan, have complicated relations between China and the United States. "Our one-China policy is clear and unchanged. We oppose unilateral changes to the status quo, whether by word or deed by either party, " Rice said.

    Saying that Taipei and Beijing must realize that neither side can solve the problem alone and should continue to expand recent steps toward a more productive relationship, Rice reiterated that "in the interest of peace and stability we stand by our obligations under the TRA."

    She also said that the United States can assure basic security as well as reach out to achieve other goals in the Pacific community because it knows economic and political openness works. "The ultimate direction of contemporary trends is clear. Openness is the vanguard of success. Time and again we have seen that economic and political openness cannot long be separated. Even China must eventually embrace some form of open, genuinely representative government if it is to reap the benefits and meet the challenges of a globalizing world," she said.

(By Oliver Lin and P.C. Tang)

ENDITEM/J