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Timing at issue on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan: new ROC representative

ROC Central News Agency

Taipei, July 25 (CNA) Taiwan's new representative to the United States said Friday in Taipei that timing is the main concern regarding U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, adding that he had not heard that the Bush administration will freeze the deal and that his top priority after assuming the post will be to push the weapons package through the U.S. Congress.

Jason Yuan -- who is slated to assume office Aug. 4 -- made the remarks at a reception for the media, rebutting reports that the U.S. government appears to have frozen the US$11 billion arms package.

The weapons package includes the Patriot anti-missile system and attack helicopters. The arms are among those offered to Taiwan by U.S. President George W. Bush after he took office in 2001, and were approved last December by Taiwan's legislative branch after a long delay.

However, the Bush administration has not yet notified the U.S. Congress of the arms sales, a step required before the weapons can be released to Taiwan.

The Bush administration has also declined to process a separate request for F-16 C/D fighter jets.

"There is no such word as `freeze' in the (Bush) administration" in this regard, Yuan said. "My contacts in Washington, D.C.... no-one -- particularly those in charge of arms sales, security issues -- has told me: we are going to freeze the arms sales."

He said that all the speculation by the media and think tanks are out of goodwill, as many of them are worried that the arms sales issue is running against the clock given the fact that the U.S. presidential election is coming in November and the U.S. Congress is going to recess soon.

Yuan on the other hand appeared quite optimistic about the weapons package.

"To me, I don't think it's a big issue... I think by the time I go (to the U.S.) on the 4th, it will be almost a done deal, " Yuan stated.

Noting that the arms sales issue is the key spirit of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), Yuan said that no matter which U.S. party is in power, it has to fulfill the stipulations set forth in the TRA.

Passed by the U.S. Congress in 1979 after the establishment of U.S. relations with the People's Republic of China and the breaking of relations between the U.S. and the Republic of China, the TRA guarantees defensive arms sales to Taiwan.

"The only little concern is the timing, " Yuan admitted, saying that one of his top priorities after assuming office will be to push for the arms sales to be passed by the U.S. Congress.

Yuan said he will also continue to strengthen communications with the U.S. Congress and the two main U.S. political parties, adding that he will accompany a Taiwanese delegation to attend and observe the Democratic and Republican Conventions at the end of August.

Before retiring from the foreign service in January 2004, Yuan served as Taiwan's representative to Canada, ROC ambassador to Panama, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, and chief of the Congressional Liaison Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States.

He has been the representative to the U.S. for both the ruling Kuomintang and the opposition People First Party since 2004. (By Rachel Chan) ENDITEM/J