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US emphasizing its `six assurances' for Taiwan

The George W. Bush administration has been paying increased attention to Taiwan's security and has recently reiterated the "six assurances" aimed at deterring China from attacking Taiwan militarily, a Japanese daily reported yesterday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the Bush administration has decided to apply the policy of the "six assurances" that were made to Taiwan by the Ronald Reagan administration in July 14, 1982, for the security of Taiwan.

The six assurances are that the US has not agreed to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, it has not agreed to hold prior consultations with China on such arms sales, it will not play any mediation role between Taipei and Beijing, it has not agreed to revise the Taiwan Relations Act, it has not altered its position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan and it will not exert pressure on Taiwan to enter into negotiations with China.

It was learned that when Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) was in the US for a US-Taiwan security conference last month, Pentagon officials told him that the US government would firmly follow the "six assurances."

The Yomiuri Shimbun also quoted officials in Washington as saying that the Bush administration has decided to put aside the "three nos" policy that former president Bill Clinton pronounced during his state visit to China in 1998.

The "three nos" are: no support for Taiwan's independence, no support for "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" and no support for Taiwan's membership in international organizations where statehood is required.
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