As countries around Asia expressed concern over the spy plane dispute between the US and China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it hopes the two can settle the row soon and not at the expense of US arms sales.
"We hope the US and China can resolve this quickly and smoothly," foreign ministry spokeswoman Chang Siao-yue (
"We hope it won't impact US arms sales to us. It's two different things," she said.
Some analysts said the spy plane row could make it harder for US President George W. Bush to resist arguments in favor of selling Taiwan high-tech weaponry with which to defend itself against Beijing.
Eighty-two members of the US Congress have written to Bush a letter in support of the sale.
The ministry said Taiwan would not take sides in the spy plane standoff.
"This is between the US and China. We will not get involved," Chang said.
"If ties between the US and China are bad, it's not necessarily good for us," the spokeswoman said. "If ties between them are good, it's not necessarily bad for us.
"We are very concerned about peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Pacific," she said.
But so far, all has been quiet. The Ministry of National Defense said there have been no unusual Chinese military movements since the US spy plane was intercepted.
Meanwhile, now that the Bush administration has warned that the standoff over a US spy plane could damage Washington-Beijing ties, other countries in Asia were keeping a close eye on developments. With good reason: Asia is home to a long list of territorial disputes, high-stakes negotiations and a major chunk of the world economy -- and China has a hand in it all.
As North Korea's only ally, Beijing also plays a key role in efforts to coax Pyongyang out of its 50-year-old isolation.
The South China Sea, where the US EP-3 collided with a Chinese warplane, is filled with islands claimed variously by China, Vietnam and the Philippines. And companies from the US, Europe and Japan have greatly expanded their presence in China in the past decade.
Japan was especially interested in a fast solution. Tokyo hosts nearly 50,000 US troops on its soil and depends on shipping lines through the South China Sea to bring it vital Middle East oil.
In Thailand, The Nation newspaper warned in an editorial that security in the region could suffer if the standoff drags on.
But officials and analysts in the region were also insisting yesterday that the spy plane dispute had not had an impact yet -- and probably wouldn't without a major increase in tensions.
At the end of a two-day conference in Manila to discuss South China Sea territorial disputes, both Chinese and Philippine officials played down the influence of the standoff. "We will look at it as an isolated case," said Roilo Golez, Philippine national security adviser.
On the Korean peninsula, the sense of trouble was more pronounced.
Kim Sung-han, a researcher at the South's Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, said the problems could hamper Seoul's plans for four-way peace talks to include both Koreas, the US and China.
"If US-China relations worsen, it would be very hard to even build the very basic channel of communications to discuss peace," Kim said.
Regular people in the region so far seem unruffled by the trouble.
In Japan, tourist officials said travelers were not canceling trips to China or expressing safety concerns. Petroleum importers said they hadn't heard of any ships changing course to avoid the South China Sea.
Stock markets were also being watched closely for signs of volatility.
Losses on Wall Street on Tuesday were being blamed in part on the spy plane dispute, so by the time markets opened in Asia yesterday, it was difficult to tell whether slumps were due to the dispute or Wall Street.
"At best, it's not really helping, particularly in North Asian markets," said Eddie Lee, Singapore-based economist with Vickers Ballas.
"But it certainly doesn't look to me like war between the two countries. If it does, it would be very silly," he said.Also See Story Inside
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