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Editorial: Managing the art of compromise

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that it would trade passage of direct cross-strait links for passage of the long-delayed arms procurement bill.

The government should seriously consider this proposal.

Naturally, there are a number of security concerns that must be addressed before direct links can be allowed. But the government should first agree to direct links to resolve the legislative deadlock and work out the details afterward.

Foreign and local businesses have long cited the restrictions on cross-strait transportation as a major hindrance to the development of Taiwan's economy. And both China and the pan-blue parties have used the issue to paint the Chen administration as the villain in cross-strait affairs.

By explicitly agreeing to direct cross-strait links in principle, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would have the opportunity to take the high ground with regard to the cross-strait relationship. He would also be giving his party a much-needed boost by forging a compromise in the Legislative Yuan. More importantly, he would be repairing the damaged image of Taiwan among many in the US, who believe that this political system is so dysfunctional that its leaders cannot arrive at a consensus about defending their own country.

The Ministry of National Defense still contends that it desperately needs the three items that were once included in the special arms budget bill -- PAC-3 Patriot anti-missile batteries, P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and diesel electric submarines. And the US military is becoming increasingly concerned about China's military capabilities with regard to intervening in a cross-strait conflict.

"Of the major and emerging powers, China has the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that could over time offset traditional US military advantages absent US counter strategies," was the way the situation was described in the Pentagon's recently released Quadrennial Defense Review.

"Chinese military modernization has accelerated since the mid-to-late 1990s in response to central leadership demands to develop military options against Taiwan scenarios. The pace and scope of China's military buildup already puts regional military balances at risk," the review said.

Taiwan obviously has as much, if not more, at stake than the US in the way it responds to China's militarization. It cannot afford to waste time playing partisan games in the legislature as its navy rusts away in port and its air force falls out of the sky.

If the US is taking the long view with regard to China, what will this mean for a Taiwan that has shown itself to be an unreliable military partner?

Do this country's politicians think they can continue ignoring the concerns of their most substantial ally and somehow rely on their own abilities to deter China?

If, as the military officers and various politicians have been saying, Taiwan does in fact desperately need these items for its defense, then the pan-greens should be willing to negotiate a solution to the issue.

And while the pan-blues deserve to be berated over their short-sighted intransigence with regard to Taiwan's defense, they should also be forced into a situation where they are on the defensive politically.

It does not make sense for the Chen administration to continue provoking both allies and enemies, while playing the isolated martyr who would rather die for its principles than make an effort to move issues forward.
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