The US should not engage in a wholesale change of its "one China" policy but should review only those "component parts" affected by China's recent military buildup and other developments in China and Taiwan, the chairman of a congressional panel that called for a review of the policy said Wednesday.
Roger Robinson, the chairman of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, made his comments in testimony before a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the commission's latest annual report to Congress.
"We don't mean that any kind of wholesale change is in order," Robinson said.
"Rather, [we recommended] looking within the `one China' policy as it exists today and determining whether we're providing sufficient defense-related assistance to Taiwan at the pace needed to keep up with the Chinese [arms] buildup," he said.
He also said the review suggested by his commission was aimed at "helping Taiwan break out of the political and economic isolation that Beijing has been trying to enforce against it."
His statements helped clarify what the commission meant when it recommended, in its annual report to Congress issued Tuesday, that lawmakers and the administration review the "one China" policy in light of changes since the policy was first adopted.
Robinson stressed that the commission did not "necessarily try to prejudge the outcome" of such a review.
"We are not suggesting that the policy has not served to keep the peace for 25 years," he said.
Robinson's comments appeared to be in response to the heated reaction that met the report's call for a review of the "one China" policy.
"We believe that in the 25 years since the `one China' policy was implemented, what was called the status quo has changed significantly on the ground, and what might have been the status quo then is no longer the status quo," he said. "It is entirely possible that the `one China' policy will continue to be effective, but we feel it is time for Congress and the administration to look at this and determine if it's going to continue to work, or if it's making things more dangerous for us."
Robinson was referring to the commitment Washington made in the Taiwan Relations Act to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons and to prepare to respond to any hostile act against Taiwan by China.
"There is a serious and even perilous imbalance in military capabilities in cross-strait relations," he said.
China is "clearly not only preparing for the eventuality of a forceful unification scenario, but also and even more disturbingly the interdiction of US forces that might seek to intervene."
The most disturbing aspect of this is the potential for miscalculation, he said, noting that China has purchased submarine-based cruise missiles that could be launched against an American aircraft carrier home to 5,000 troops.
"If such a missile let fly, it would be a national catastrophe and crisis," he said.
"The change of America being enmeshed in this conflict is so big that we simply cannot stand on the sidelines to see any downward spiral in cross-strait relations. That was what the commission was getting at when we talked about the `one China' policy," Robinson said.
He did not explain that comment.
The commission chairman also called for the release by the US government of any documents that remain secret that contain additional commitments to Taiwan made by various presidents over the past half century.
RSS