A senior advisor to the National Security Council recently advocated that Taiwan seek a more positive role in the Asia-Pacific region as the new US government wants to pursue an alliance with Japan as its new Asia strategy.
"A US-Japan alliance would provide a stable international environment conducive to Taiwan's domestic development and its regional participation," said senior advisor to the council Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).
"Improvements in the US-Japan alliance serve Taiwan's national interest both for security and economic reasons," Lin said at a recent international forum in Japan on issues surrounding US-Japan-Taiwan security.
Lin's remarks, as one of the five NSC advisors specializing in foreign affairs, also reflects the opinion of some in the council.
In a paper titled The Impact of the US' Asia Policy on Taiwan, Lin made a comparison between the former Bill Clinton administration's "Eurocentric" foreign policy and the current George W. Bush administration's policy, saying Bush is paying serious attention to post-Cold War Asia-Pacific security.
The paper is yet to be publicly released.
This new approach abandons the notion that China is America's "strategic partner" and instead re-emphasizes the US-Japan alliance as the linchpin of its Asia policy, Lin pointed out.
Lin said that the US initiative and reaction from other Asian countries is having a significant impact on Taiwan's domestic political environment and foreign policy decisions.
"Now is one of the best periods for US-Taiwan relations in the past 20 years," Lin said. He said that a strong US-Japan alliance will not only deter China if it opts to use force against Taiwan but can also stabilize the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.
"Taiwan's overseas investments can benefit greatly from a predictable international environment provided by the US-Japan alliance," Lin said.
"The priority of Taiwan's external relations relies on establishing close relations with the US and Japan, working with them to keep the sea lanes and continental markets as free and open as possible," he added.
Lin said that Taiwan needs a stable external environment to consolidate its democracy, to transform its stagnant economy and to survive the challenges of globalization.
"Believing that a strong US-Japan alliance provides the common good for Taiwanese development and regional stability, Taiwan envisions itself to be proactive in strengthening US-Japan relations and to help to democratize China," Lin said.
"The net result will depend on others' perception of this policy initiative: Are they ready to accept Taiwan as part of the solution to regional problems, or to continue to see Taiwan as a problem to be managed?" he said.
Lin said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has called for increased cooperation between Taiwan, the US and Japan on the issue of security in the Taiwan Strait, as well as more military communication for confidence-building purposes.
"Representative Lo Fu-chen (羅福全), Taiwan's unofficial ambassador to Japan, also specifically stated that Taiwan is willing to play a larger and positive role to help enhance the US-Japan alliance," Lin said.
"The recognition of coordinating Taiwan-US-Japan relations has led to various efforts to develop a second track of strategic dialogues between the three countries.
"Moreover, Taiwan-Japan and Taiwan-US relations are also beginning to be viewed and conducted within this context," Lin said.
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