Arms sales to Taiwan
Arms sales to Taiwan
This is in response to Mr. Jonathan Power's article titled Why Beijing shouldn't be feared which appeared on page 5 of The Jakarta Post's March 23, 1996 edition.
In the article, Mr. Power said, among other things, that "It was a serious mistake for President George Bush to decide to sell Taiwan state-of-the-art warplanes in clear contradiction of a solemn U.S. promise to Beijing." Mr. Power is mistaken. The United States never promised not to sell arms to Taiwan.
Article (6) of the so-called "United States-China Joint Communique of Aug. 17, 1982" states that "....the United States states that it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and that it intends to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution...."
Article (7) of the communique continues that "In order to bring about, over a period of time, a final settlement of the question of United States arms sales to Taiwan, which is an issue rooted in history, the two governments will make every effort to adopt measures and create conditions conducive to the thorough settlement of this issue."
Sec. 2. (b) of "Taiwan Relations Act," a public law of the United States that came into force on April 10, 1979, states that "It is the policy of the United States to make clear that the People's Republic of China rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means (2) and it is the policy of the United States to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character (5)..."
The United States has approved only recently (on March 20) the sale to Taiwan of Stinger surface-to-air missiles, an advanced targeting and navigation system for fighter jets and electronic warfare devices. This approved sale is based on the letter and spirit of the Act and does not contradict the Communique.
DAVID Y.S. TZOU
Information Director
Taipei Economic and Trade Office
Jakarta