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Ros-Lehtinen seeks support for arms sales

A senior member of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday launched a drive in support of arms sales to Taiwan, amid concerns over a freeze by the administration of US President George W. Bush on the sales.

Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is asking her colleagues to cosponsor a resolution she intends to introduce this week that would require the Bush administration to consult with Congress on the development and execution of its arms transfer policy toward Taiwan.

A letter sent by Ros-Lehtinen’s office to other members of the House said that the freeze on weapons sales to Taiwan was in apparent contradiction of longstanding US law and policy.

These include the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) of 1979, which obligates the US to make available defense items necessary for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability, and the “Six Assurances” of July 14, 1982, under which Washington had agreed not to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan nor to consult with Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan, the letter said.

While the TRA also specifies a congressional role in decisionmaking on security assistance to Taiwan, the administration has to date declined to brief Congress on the legal justification and rationale for its policy to freeze the sales, the letter said.

The congresswoman’s move came one week after Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of the US Pacific Command, indirectly confirmed that the Bush administration had placed a freeze on arms sales to Taiwan, just as delays in screening a number of pending weapons sales to Taiwan were raising speculation that Washington might have suspended the process.

The list of military hardware being held up includes P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, anti-tank missiles, PAC-3 missile batteries, Apache helicopters, diesel-powered submarines and sea-launched Harpoon missiles.

However, when asked to comment on Keating’s remarks last week, the State Department reiterated that the US had not changed its policy on arms sales to Taiwan.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the administration “faithfully implements the Taiwan Relations Act” and that the policy “is applicable for all US government agencies, whether it’s the Department of Defense, Department of State or any other part of the US government.”

Also See: Wang says trip to US will help clarify position on arms
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