US lawmakers on Tuesday cautiously endorsed the Bush administration's planned sale of a sophisticated weapons package to Taiwan, praising the deal as a clear sign of Washington's commitment to the nation's defense.
The weapons package, the largest in a decade, did not include the sophisticated AEGIS naval air defense system that had drawn fierce opposition from China. But it included enough destroyers, submarines and aircraft to worry Beijing and placate some anti-China hardliners in Congress who hoped for more.
"With this decision, President Bush has made it crystal clear that the United States will not allow communist China to dictate our foreign policy and that we are once again committed to our democratic allies in Taiwan," said Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the third-ranking House Republican and a fierce critic of Beijing.
Included in the arms package for Taiwan are four older Kidd-class destroyers, a dozen anti-submarine aircraft and eight diesel submarines which would be built in Europe.
The White House held open the possibility that later packages for Taiwan could include destroyers fitted with the AEGIS radar and weapons system.
Many congressional Republicans, reluctant to criticize their new president, backed the deal. Republican Senate Leader Trent Lott called the package "prudent" given that the AEGIS system would not be available for another eight years or more.
Senator Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the package was the most significant in nine years but "the sale of AEGIS destroyers is also justified in light of the outrageous actions of the leaders in Beijing."
Representative Bob Schaffer, a Colorado Republican who along with Maryland Republican Roscoe Bartlett had written to Bush urging support for the AEGIS system, said the decision sent a mixed signal to Beijing.
While the overall Taiwan package was strong, the failure to include AEGIS "does at least raise the question as to whether the United States appears timid in the face of Chinese belligerence," Schaffer said.
Congress does not need to approve the weapons package, but could adopt a resolution of disapproval.
Schaffer said he knew there was "a certain amount" of disappointment in the White House announcement but he was unsure if it was enough to spark a disapproval resolution.
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