President George W. Bush has not yet decided whether to offer ships with sophisticated anti-missile radars to Taiwan, his spokesman said onMonday, as pressure mounted ahead of an expected arms sale to the country fiercely resisted by China.
Bush's decision on whether to satisfy Taiwan's request for AEGIS-equipped destroyers is expected later this month, and an already touchy issue has become even more sensitive following the Sino-US spy plane drama.
The president "has made no determination at this time," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "There is no hard and fast deadline for when the decision will be made."
The decision, coming so soon after the dispute after a collision between a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet, has the potential to shape relations between Washington and Beijing for months to come.
China has made Taiwan's request for destroyers equipped with the AEGIS battle management system in its annual arms order from the US a litmus test of the Bush's administration's approach to Beijing.
Beijing has made clear that it would view the inclusion of AEGIS in the package as a violation of accords which form the bedrock of Sino-US relations.
Administration officials say that Bush's decision will be made only with Taiwan's defense needs in mind, and will not be influenced by the spy plane crisis, which subjected US relations with China to severe trauma.
RSS