With fresh support from China in hand, US President George W. Bush hopes to minimize public differences with Asian allies over how to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions and come back to the bargaining table.
On the sidelines of a weekend-long economic summit with Pacific Rim leaders, Bush met yesterday in quick succession with all four of the US' partners in now-stalled talks with the communist regime.
PHOTO: YEH CHIH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
China was first up, and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) said after the meeting, "We ... exchanged views on the question of Taiwan. I expressed my high appreciation to Bush's adherence to the `one China' policy and the three communiques, and to his opposition to [Taiwan's] independence."
A senior Chinese government official, appearing in Santiago on Friday, said China will push for North Korea to resume negotiations.
"I believe you can never push too hard for a good purpose," said Kong Quan, chief spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Meetings with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Russia were to follow.
Believing that having all five partners on the same page from a high-profile international summit will have an impact on North Korea, Bush's goal is a tough united front reinforcing a demand that North Korea completely give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and insisting that any talks with Pyong-yang occur only with all the partners present.
With North Korea demanding economic aid and US guarantees of nonaggression as incentives, South Korea and China, in particular, have suggested it may be necessary to be more flexible.
"We've put forward a realistic proposal and we're not interested, none of us are interested, in sort of negotiating among ourselves at this point," a senior White House official said. "There is something concrete to talk about; the North Koreans need to come back to the table to talk about it."
Also see stories:
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source