Taiwan has been listed as one of 54 countries supporting the US-led war to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, said the foreign minister yesterday, while adding the government's pro-US stance is "unrelated" to the president's visit to the US.
Taiwan did not find itself part of the US' so-called "coalition of the willing" announced by the US government last Tuesday.
However, on a revised list released a day later by a US think tank, Taiwan was included as actively supporting the war on Iraq.
"Among the 54 countries the Heritage Foundation announced, we were one of them," Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
Chien made the remark when asked by DPP Legislator Yen Ching-fu (
An official said last Tuesday's list -- including 30 named countries and another 15 that had their identities kept secret -- from the US State Department backfired as some of the listed countries did not want their names in the spotlight.
The conservative Heritage Foundation was then given the task to release a renewed list of countries backing the US war effort, the official said.
According to the list made available by the think tank on Wednesday, Taiwan was included in the "coalition of the willing" after it opened its airspace to US military aircraft.
The think-tank memo also said the renewed number of supporters for the US-led war in Iraq had made the "coalition of the willing" larger than the 1991 Gulf War coalition.
"To date, there are 54 countries that have joined the coalition of the willing -- not including Canada, Germany and France, which have recently offered conditional support. This does not include all of the 15 nations that have offered quiet support. The number of nations to date already eclipses the 1991 Gulf War coalition, which had 38 countries," the memo said.
Chien dismissed allegations from opposition lawmakers that the government's repeated statements of support for the war in Iraq highlighted its ambitions to have President Chen Shui-bian (
"Our support for thhe anti-terrorism campaign is unrelated to the president's visit to the US," Chien said, adding that the ministry has no plans for a presidential trip to the US this year.
The duration of the war in Iraq and the number of casualties are two key variables affecting US public opinion toward the war in Iraq, Chien said.
He also reiterated the government's willingness to take part in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq after Saddam is ousted, while adding that the US government has not contacted Taiwan to push for any discussions on the matter.
The media has reported that five US companies -- including those that have close ties with high-ranking incumbent US officials -- have been shortlisted by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for lucrative construction projects in post-conflict Iraq.
A USAID spokeswoman was cited as saying that it's a policy of USAID to use US firms for projects funded by the American taxpayer. Non-US companies were free to organize their own business through their own governments, she added.
MOFA reiterated its support for reconstruction in Iraq in a statement released last night, saying that it will not neglect its duties there.
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