US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will tell China's leaders that Washington's obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide for Taiwan's defense makes this week's passage of the "Anti-Secession" Law particularly troublesome for the US, Rice said Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters accompanying her on a week-long trip to Asia, Rice said that in her meetings in Beijing later this week, she will reiterate the Bush administration's complaint that the Anti-Secession Law is not helpful in reducing cross-strait tensions.
She noted that the US has already told China that "we would have hoped that this would not have been done."
She also expressed the hope that Beijing's passage of the law will force the EU to reconsider its decision to lift its arms embargo on China.
Previewing her meetings with the Chinese, Rice said that the US' "responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act really demand that the United States make clear to both parties, China and Taiwan, that unilateral moves are just not helpful."
The US considers the Anti-Secession Law to be a "unilateral move," she said.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, enacted in 1979, the US is committed to selling Taiwan the weapons necessary for its defense against a Chinese attack, and to keep US forces in Asia in readiness to defend Taiwan, if necessary, against an attack.
In that vein, Rice said she is also concerned about increased Chinese military spending, which has grown by double-digit amounts each year at an uncertain time in cross-strait relations.
"Certainly the military spending is concerning, because it is taking place at a time when the cross-straits [sic] issue is not still resolved and in which the United States has certain commitments to a peaceful resolution of that cross-straits situation," she said.
Meanwhile, the newly-nominated assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, Christopher Hill, said Tuesday that China had "no justification" for passing a law that sanctions military action against Taiwan.
Speaking at a confirmation hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Hill said Washington must be "very vigorous in making clear to the Chinese our concern," about the law.
"We don't believe there is any justification for making these unhelpful statements that suggest that there are other options out there that the Chinese can use beside peaceful dialogue" with Taiwan, he said.
"It is unthinkable to resort to military means to solve [cross-strait issues]. So clearly any Anti-Secession Law that alludes to the legality of military means is simply not helpful" in addressing the issue through dialogue, he said.
Peaceful means are "the only solution to this," said Hill, who will be the department's top specialist on East Asia in his new post. A former ambassador to South Korea, Hill was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 4 to replace James Kelly, who resigned earlier in the year. His comments at the hearing were his first on Taiwan issues since being tapped by Bush.
Rice, asked about the EU arms embargo, said that the Europeans "are examining this issue."
She said she hopes that the Anti-Secession Law "would at least remind the Europeans that there are still serious security issues in this region."
also see stroies:
Chen lashes out over China's law
Alliance sets plans for `Anti-Secession' Law protest
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