Taiwan must separate China ties from U.S. arm sales: legislator
ROC Central News Agency
2011/01/12 15:25:06
Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) The development of ties with China must be treated as a separate issue from U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, said Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Lin Yu-fang on Wednesday, and he urged the government to deal with both gingerly to gain maximum protection militarily and economically.
"We must have our own stance and that is, we treat cross-strait affairs and weapons purchases as two separate issues. China is doing the same. For example, just because it halted military communications with the U.S., it continued to foster a better relationship with Taiwan," he said.
Lin was responding to comments made by American and Chinese officials recently during a trip to Beijing by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Guan Youfei, the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of China's Defense Ministry, said China had urged Washington to stop its arms sales to Taiwan because the situation across the Taiwan Strait was relatively mild and exchanges were growing each day.
"At such a moment, we are holding a stronger line against U.S. arms deals to Taiwan. The problem lies with the U.S. itself and we hope it can carefully consider that," Guan said.
In a separate press conference, Gates reaffirmed that while the U.S. did not support Taiwan's independence, it would not waiver from its commitment to Taiwan's security based on the Taiwan Relations Act.
Lin, who sits on the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and National Defense Committee, said he was not surprised by the statements because they reflected longstanding policies, and he insisted that Taiwan should not stop buying additional weapons from the U.S. just to appease China.
He said that while China's market was vital to Taiwan's economic growth and any setbacks to cross-strait detente might hurt Taiwan's future, Taiwan could not afford to neglect its own defense capabilities.
Opposition Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Chai Trong-rong also urged the government to continue its lobbying effort with the Pentagon to boost Taiwan's defense arsenal.
"Action speaks louder than words and obviously China is lying when it says the cross-strait relationship has improved. If things are going so well, then why does Beijing still refuse to remove its missiles?" he said.
During Gates' press conference, he was asked if in his discussions with the Chinese, he received any indication that Beijing was willing to cut the number of missiles facing Taiwan.
"No, but I did -- I did reinforce our support for improving cross-strait relationships. We would very much like to see that continue," he said.
Gates met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday and was scheduled to visit the Second Artillery Corps of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) headquarters, the command center of China's nuclear and missile arsenal, and meet with General Jing Zhiyuan, commander of the Second Artillery Corps, on Wednesday.
This is Gates' first visit to China since 2007 and has been dubbed as a "fence-mending" trip by the Chinese media.
China severed military contacts with the U.S. last year after Washington approved a US$6.4 billion arms package to Taiwan, which included Patriot missiles, Blackhawk helicopters, and minehunter ships. (By Jenny W. Hsu) enditem/ls
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