A US professor is urging US President Barack Obama to make a deal with Beijing over the sale of advanced F-16 fighter planes to Taiwan.
“The warplanes should be used as bargaining chips,” said Missouri State University political science professor Dennis Hickey in an article published this week in the Los Angeles Times.
The article appeared on the eve of Obama’s departure on a four-nation tour of Asia, beginning yesterday, that will include two days in China and incorporate direct talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) that are certain to touch on US arms sales to Taiwan.
While the official agenda may be dominated by efforts to resolve the global financial crisis, climate change and nuclear proliferation in North Korea, Hickey said that most analysts agree that Beijing’s primary concern would be Washington’s continued military support of Taiwan.
In particular, the Chinese are known to strongly oppose Taiwan’s request for 66 upgraded F-16 fighters.
“Obama should not bow to Chinese pressure and scuttle the idea of F-16 sales,” Hickey wrote.
He said that the administration ought to explore the possibility of agreeing to a deal similar to that proposed by former Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) to former US president George W. Bush in 2002.
“The US should agree not to sell advanced fighters to Taiwan in exchange for the removal of the 1,500 ballistic missiles that China has deployed directly opposite Taiwan,” he said.
“Such an initiative could yield numerous dividends,” Hickey said.
He said that Beijing would seriously consider the proposal because it would generate goodwill in Taiwan.
It would also provide Taipei with tangible evidence that its policy of cooperation and conciliation with China is working.
“The current leaders would be able to more easily move forward with other measures aimed at rapprochement and enhance their prospects for re-election,” the professor said.
He pointed out that US officials have long emphasized that arms sales to Taiwan can serve as a stabilizing factor in East Asian affairs.
But in this instance, he said, the sale of high-profile F-16s would jeopardize relations with Beijing, undermine core US interests and help spark an arms race across the Taiwan Strait.
Hickey concluded: “If Washington uses the prospect of dropping such sales as a bargaining chip to persuade China to remove the missiles, it would help reduce cross-strait tensions, pave the way for closer Sino-American relations and promote peace and stability in the western Pacific.”
“The choice should be obvious,” Hickey said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS