Chen's travel and arms deal are not linked: US official

The US government would never link the issue of which cities Taiwan's president can transit through in the US to movement on the island's planned arms procurement from the US, a State Department official said Wednesday.

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli made the remarks at a press briefing on updated US foreign policy.

In response to a question on whether the US might tie the issue of where President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) can make transit stops in the US to progress on the nation's planned arms purchase, Ereli told the reporter that "you're mixing apples and oranges" by linking the two issues.

The spokesman noted that the US government has consistently addressed such transit applications in terms of safety, comfort and convenience of the traveler.

"There shouldn't be anything political read into" such arrangements, he said, adding that "it's a technical criteria that we follow."

Chen scheduled to make stopovers in the US en route to and from Central America and the Caribbean for a diplomatic tour next month. Relevant Taiwanese and US authorities are discussing the transit arrangements.

Meanwhile, as China and Russia are set to stage their biggest-ever joint military exercises later this month, Ereli was asked whether the Bush administration is concerned about the event's implications for Taiwan's security.

Ereli by saying that the Chinese-Russian military exercises are matters between China and Russia.

"You know our actions and policies are guided by the Taiwan Relations Act and the Three Communiques," he added.