When will the US wage war on Iraq? How will the US handle the nuclear crisis in North Korea? How will the US attempt to seek China's cooperation affect US-Taiwan relations? After attending the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Taiwan's delegation and I discussed these questions and related issues with US officials, members of Congress and think-tank experts.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, observers have noticed the improvements in Sino-US relations. For example, US President George W. Bush have held three summit meetings with Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民).
However, the improvements do not indicate that the Sino-US cooperation is without interruption. Nor have the two countries gradually become "strategic partners." Although China verbally supports the US in the war against terrorism, some US officials have privately complained that Beijing only makes empty promises. They said that the application of China's intelligence information on terrorists is limited and that China's help is not comparable to that of Taiwan.
The US has advocated a second UN resolution to authorize military action and disarm Iraq's WMD. China, France and Russia have altogether expressed an opposing view, however. They stand for the extension of weapons inspections. Bush even called and solicited the support of Jiang for a second UN resolution that authorizes military action against Iraq. To date, Beijing still has not showed signs of support for the US proposal.
On the issue of nuclear weapons in North Korea, China initially expressed its will to arrange bilateral talks between the US and North Korea. Other than that, China has not used its influence to exhort North Korea not to continue with the development of nuclear weapons. As a result, Bush called and reminded Jiang of the two countries' common responsibility to keep a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Bush also asked China to actively advise North Korea.
China, however, keeps shadow boxing around. It has only asked the US to continue seeking bilateral talks using diplomatic means. It is clear that the US and China have different interests and strategies on the issue of how to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. The US insists on the principle of non-proliferation. The US argues that North Korea must stop developing nuclear weapons, remove the Pu-239 (a nuclear raw material) facilities at Yongbyon, and accept investigations by international inspectors. The US said the use of military force to achieve these objectives will not be ruled out.
China's interests are drastically different from those of the US. It sees North Korea as a buffer state and neither wants the North Korean regime to collapse nor supports the unification of North and South Koreas. In recent years China has supported the tottering North Korean regime, providing food provisions, oil, strategic supplies and economic aid. It believes the stability of the Korean Peninsula prevails over everything else. Although China is not happy with North Korea's development of nuclear weapons, it is not willing to resort to high-handed measures so as to force North Korea to give in. Washington officials and members of
Congress privately expressed that they are impatient with and disappointed in China's inability or unwillingness to help with the North Korean problem. They believe it is impossible for the US and China to become real strategic partners due to the difference of interests. Some Americans, Japanese and South Koreans used to assume that Beijing has influence on North Korea, but Beijing's actions really make their assumption questionable.
Parris Chang is a DPP legislator.
Translated by Grace Shaw
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