US Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush has furthered promises of support for Taiwan, this time reiterating that if elected, the US would honor its commitment to defending the country in case of a Chinese attack during his tenure -- hinting, at the same time, that he might provide Taiwan with the proposed Theater Missile Defense (TMD) system.
During an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" program on Sunday, Bush promised to be tough with China if it were to start bombing innocent women and children like Russia did to people in Chechnya.
In response to the host's question about providing Taiwan with the TMD system, Bush said that the US has to have an anti-missile system that is both feasible and helpful in keeping regional peace, while stressing that China must understand that there are areas in which Beijing and Washington could cooperate and "areas where we won't."
On the question of incorporating Taiwan into the TMD, Bush replied "whether we own it or Taiwan owns it, whether we own it or Japan owns it, it is not a matter of ownership, it's a matter of deployment, it's a matter of convincing people not to launch missiles against our friends."
He signaled a shift away from US President Bill Clinton's "strategic partnership" with China, saying that Beijing should be "unthreatened, but not unchecked."
The comments were just the latest in a series of remarks in which Bush has shown aggressive support for Taiwan while attacking China.
On Friday, Bush said the US would defend the "free people" of Taiwan if China resorted to bullying tactics.
While recognizing the current political status quo with regard to US-China relations, he was adamant about US commitments in Taiwan.
"We do not deny there is one China. But we deny the right of Beijing to impose their rule on a free people. As I've said before, we will help Taiwan defend itself," he said.
Analysts here have said that Bush's policy posturing is to be expected and typical of campaign behavior. They cited bullish stances against China in the past by both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton while electioneering -- but these policies fizzled out during their presidential terms.
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