A US congressman said that the cross-strait service trade agreement increases the risk of a direct conflict between China and the US.
Democratic Representative Alan Grayson, a member of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, wrote US Secretary of State John Kerry seeking a full analysis of potential effects the deal may have on US interests.
Grayson said that the trade deal is a possible step toward political and economic integration “between the two political entities,” adding that the integration “may be disadvantageous both to Taiwan and to the US.”
Student-led protesters occupied the legislature’s main chamber on March 18 to protest the government’s handling of the trade agreement.
The protesters demanded that an oversight bill for cross-strait agreements be passed before the service trade pact — signed with China in June last year but still pending in the legislature — be reviewed.
Protesters left the chamber on Thursday last week, after Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) acceded to their demand.
Grayson wrote that Taiwan and China are “vastly disproportionate in size,” which has implications for the deal.
“Economic integration between China and Taiwan will necessarily bring more political influence in Taiwan for the Chinese government, both directly and through the increasing power of Chinese state-owned enterprises in the Taiwanese economy,” Grayson wrote.
“It is clear that increasing influence and ultimately annexation are the aims and stated policy of the Chinese government,” he added.
In consideration of the deep economic, political and military links between the US and Taiwan, Grayson said that the trade deal increases the risk of a direct conflict between Washington and Beijing.
“On the face of it, it seems prudent to consider these risks and make it clear to the Taiwanese government that it bears full responsibility for maintaining and defending its sovereignty in all respects, including economic ones,” he wrote.
“Given the [US] State Department’s responsibility in this area, I would appreciate it if you would share analysis of this trade deal, and how the increased influence of China in Taiwan that it entails may impact American interests,” he wrote.
Grayson has previously said that Taiwanese groups had “vehemently” protested the trade deal and that it was highly controversial.
A US Department of State source on Monday said Kerry had not received Grayson’s letter, but was expected to reply later this week, after he had studied it.
Last month, US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that the US hoped discussions on the trade pact could be carried out peacefully.
“We certainly support Taiwan’s vibrant democracy, which allows for this kind of robust political dialogue,” she said.
“We have welcomed steps taken by both sides on the Taiwan Strait — that they’ve taken to reduce tensions and improve relations between Taipei and Beijing,” she added.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS