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U.S. congresswoman seeks support for Taiwan arms sales

ROC Central News Agency

Washington, July 23 (CNA) A senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives launched a drive Wednesday in support of arms sales to Taiwan, amid concerns over a freeze by the administration of President George W. Bush on the sales.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) is asking her colleagues to cosponsor a resolution that she plans to introduce this week, which would require the Bush administration to consult with Congress on the development and execution of its arms transfer policy toward Taiwan.

A letter sent by Ros-Lehtinen's office to other members of the House noted that the freeze on weapons sales to Taiwan is in apparent contradiction to longstanding U.S. law and policy.

These include the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) of 1979, which obligates the United States to make available defense items necessary for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability, and the Six Assurances of July 14, 1982, under which Washington had agreed not to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan nor to consult with Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan, the letter stated.

While the TRA also specifies a congressional role in decision-making on security assistance for Taiwan, the administration has to date declined to brief Congress on the legal justification and rationale for its policy to freeze the sales, according to the letter.

The congresswoman made the move one week after Timothy Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, indirectly confirmed that the administration of President George W. Bush has indeed placed a freeze on arms sales to Taiwan, just as delays in screening a number of pending weapons sales to Taiwan were rasing speculation that Washington might have suspended the process.

Keating said policy-makers in the administration have "reconciled Taiwan's military posture, China's current military posture and strategy that indicates there is no pressing, compelling need for, at the moment, arms sales to Taiwan."

The list of military hardware reportedly being held up include anti-tank missiles, Apache helicopters, Patriot PAC-3 missile batteries, diesel-powered submarines, P3C anti-submarine aircraft and sea-launched Harpoon missiles.

However, when ask to comment on Keating's remarks last week, the U.S. Department of State reiterated that the United States has not changed its policy on arms sales to Taiwan.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the administration "faithfully implements the Taiwan Relations Act" and that the policy "is applicable for all U.S. government agencies, whether it's the Department of Defense, Department of State or any other part of the U.S. government."

McCormack explained that there is an "internal interagency process" for the U.S. government to consider all military exports, including sales to Taiwan.

"When the interagency process achieves a final decision for specific arms sales, we will notify Congress," he said. (By Jorge Liu and Y.F. Low) ENDITEM /pc