The G8 summit in Okinawa came to a close yesterday with the announcement of a final communique. Due to the divergent stances of the member nations, the annual powwow had difficulty reaching consensus on major international security issues and resolving economic problems. We are left with empty slogans that make the whole summit look more like a summer vacation trip by the eight heads of state.
We are also disappointed by the fact that security in the Taiwan Strait was left off the agenda. However, we also understand the very fact that the summit was held in Okinawa took on a highly sensitive and strategic significance. Never has a G8 summit been held so close to Taiwan, not to say its backyard.
Okinawa is the most important of the US' military bases in East Asia. Renowned Japanese commentator Yoichi Funabashi aptly described the G8 meeting as a "summit inside a military base."
One month before the summit, the Korean Peninsula went through its most dramatic change since the Cold War. The leaders of the two Koreas agreed to reconcile, do away with foreign intervention and seek "unification under self-reliance." The Pyong- yang summit has had a major impact on the power balance in the entire region.
The tentative reconciliation between the two Koreas threw a spotlight on the question of whether the US should withdraw its troops from South Korea and also brought the status of US troops in Okinawa -- 75 percent of all the US forces in Japan -- into debate again. What should be the function of the US military presence in Asia? Should the US continue to play the role of an "international cop?"
Following Pyongyang's promise to stop its missile development program, China, Russia and the two Koreas have voiced unanimous opposition to Washington's National Missile Defense and Theater Missile Defense programs. However, we must point out that China remains the more ominous threat in Asia, a fact that Washington is unwilling to say out loud. As long as Beijing does not pull down its communist signboard, as long as the PLA's top brass see no value in democracy and human rights, China will remain the biggest threat in the region.
As long as China remains a threat to regional security, the US has no reason to withdraw its troops from Asia. Over the past few years, the US has adopted an "engagement" policy toward Beijing. But the policy has proven to be totally ineffective in checking China's military threats, especially its intimidation of Taiwan. This is because even Chinese President Jiang Zemin
The RAND Corporation recently proposed a new "congagement" policy (containment and engage-ment). We believe it is a practical and necessary strategy that will make China accept democratic values, undergo peaceful change and become a good neighbor in Asia.
Given Taiwan's security and other interests, its position on the future of the US troops in the region will be different from South Korea and Japan. Perhaps the biggest difference lies in the fact that we are facing a constant threat from a superpower to use military force against us.
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