Repeated US demands that Taiwan complete the purchase of the arms package Washington agreed to sell in April 2001 highlight the ambiguous nature of the relations between the two countries.
The US arms sale offer to Taiwan was the largest in a decade. It included four Kidd-class destroyers, eight diesel-electric submarines and 12 P-3C Orion submarine-hunting aircraft.
Officially, US arms sales aim to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait by deterring China from attacking the island. US officials advocate the acquisition of anti-submarine warfare capabilities and of modern systems for air and missile defense to counter Beijing's military buildup.
According to a report in the United Daily News, the US last December agreed to deliver 120 AIM-120 medium-range missiles to Taiwan because China had acquired similar weaponry from Russia.
Unofficially, the US anxiety about the arms package reflects the impatience of US defense contractors to wrap up billions of dollars of military contracts.
The US is a nation whose power lies in its economic expansion and not just in its military strength. Taiwan is a US ally but it is also a fantastic arms market.
The US interest has especially increased since the Ministry of National Defense made public last month a timetable for the development of a missile-defense system, which is estimated to cost hundreds of billions of NT dollars.
The competition over the Taiwanese arms market could jeopardize relations between Taipei and Washington by bringing into question the predominant role of the US arms industry in the nation's defense.
Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, two US companies, are vying for the design and construction contracts for the eight diesel-powered submarines, but they are facing some stiff additional competition.
The German shipbuilding company HDW would also be interested in the construction of the submarines according to a United Daily News report.
Any arms deal with HDW, however, would require the endorsement of the German authorities who fear the diplomatic impact on China and are unwilling to sell weapons to Taipei.
Another potential competitor is Taiwan's China Shipbuilding Corp. Its bid to secure orders from the navy is in line with Taipei's policy of promoting domestic construction of warships. Some legislators have even pushed the government to lobby US authorities so that the company can build the submarines. Yet, China Shipbuilding is late in its submarine development program.
The US has no competitor for the four Kidd-class destroyers but they are the most controversial part of the arms package.
The four ships were built in the early 1980s and are not as modern as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers equipped with the AEGIS combat control system.
Some analysts see the purchase of Kidd-class ships as a mere stopgap measure. According to a Jane's Defence Weekly report, the US linked the future procurement of AEGIS-equipped destroyers to the purchase of the Kidds.
In addition to the arms package announced in 2001, US officials and academics have also pushed Taiwan to acquire the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile-defense system manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
Such a purchase would help Taiwan meet the threat from the 600 or 650 ballistic missiles China expects to have targeted at it by 2005.
Behind the US arms sale offer, what is at stake is the meaning of the US-Taiwan partnership.
A delay in the allocation of funds to purchase the weapons could be interpreted by the US to mean that Taipei does not take the Chinese threat seriously.
It would also affect the foundations of US-Taiwan relations.
Diplomacy is a give-and-take process. The US has actively contributed to Taiwan's defense over the past years through security cooperation. It maintains, for instance, a signals intelligence facility on Yangminshan that provides Taipei with information vital to its defense.
The presence of US troops at the Hankuang No.19 Exercise next month will provide further proof of Washington's determination to preserve peace in the Taiwan Strait.
While the US is giving a lot, Taiwan keeps on asking for more without offering much in return.
Taipei calls for the signing of a free trade agreement with the US that would boost its network of economic ties and the US stake in the nation's security. Taiwan, however, has failed so far to eradicate the piracy of US optical products and computer software.
Taiwan's reluctance to take a decision over the arms package risks being perceived as an abuse of US confidence. Washington could come to feel that Taiwan is taking advantage of its unconditional commitment to it by not making necessary investments in its own defense.
Some US officials, according to a Taiwan Defense Review report, have already been upset by Taiwanese lawmakers' leaks of confidential information for the purpose of showing off US support for Taipei. In 2001, for instance, Power News reported on US-Taiwan collaboration on an underwater system for tracking submarines. And last year, talks about giving Taipei access to highly classified satellite warning information were leaked to the press.
Those leaks have undermined the mutual trust between the US and Taiwan by creating trouble in the US-China relationship.
Taiwan risks a weakening of its position in the Washington-Beijing-Taipei triangular game by not quickly making up its mind about the arms package. Further delay would convey the feeling that Taiwan does not much value its friendship with the US.
Trung Latieule is an editorial assistant at the International Herald Tribune in France.
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