In a confluence of events that officials sought to downplay, the chief of Taiwan's navy was in the US on Tuesday for consultations with his American counterparts as Washington continued to negotiate an end to the spy plane crisis with China.
US officials and independent China experts said the visit of Admiral Lee Jye (李傑), commander in chief of the navy, was long planned and unrelated to the impasse over Beijing's refusal to return 24 crew members of an American spy plane involved in a mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter on April 1, whose freedom is now pending.
Lee "is in the United States for routine consultations in the context of our regular discussions about Taiwan's defense needs," a State Department official said.
The Bush administration is expected to decide on, or about, April 24 on possible arms sales to Taiwan.
Lee, rumored to be a potential successor to Chief of the General Staff General Tang Yao-ming (
Neither the Washington-based office of the American Institute in Taiwan nor the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US -- which handle US-Taiwan contacts -- would comment on Lee's visit.
"They don't want to make a big deal of it," one Taiwanese source said.
The spy plane situation is creating serious problems for US-China relations at the start of the administration of President George W. Bush and complicating his decision on what new arms to sell Taiwan.
The State Department said Lee arrived in Hawaii, headquarters of the US Pacific Command, on Thursday and arrived in Washington on Sunday for appointments with Pentagon officials. He is due to return to Taiwan tomorrow.
Ahead of the visit, Lee was reported by Asian news media to be planning talks with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top Pentagon officials. Other sources said he was expected to also visit Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia.
RSS