Raymond F. Burghardt, the Taipei director of the American Institute in Taiwan, said yesterday that the US government has confidence that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have the creativity to resolve the cross-strait issue on their own -- without "American mediation."
"The two sides haven't said the same thing. They haven't used the same language. But finding a formula that they can use to talk doesn't look impossible," Burghardt said during a speech at the annual plenary meeting of the Society for Strategic Studies, ROC.
The occasion also marked the first public speech regarding cross-strait issues by Burghardt -- the de-facto US ambassador in Taiwan -- following the March 18 presidential election.
"The good news so far is that neither side has ruled out the possibility of being able to talk with each other," Burghardt said.
Burghardt declined to comment, however, on President-elect Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) insistence that "one China" be regarded as an "issue" to be brought up in talks with Beijing.
China has insisted instead that its definition of "one-China" should be the basis -- the bottom line -- for dialogue.
"I don't think it is appropriate or useful for me to comment on whose "one China" formula is best. We don't mediate this. We have been careful not to take a position on the policy of each side, in terms of how to deal with each other," Burghardt said.
"It [would be] arrogant for the US to comment on what is appropriate and what is not appropriate for dialogue between Taipei and Beijing," Burghardt said.
He also highlighted the idea of "no American mediation" as one of the principles of US policy concerning issues in the Taiwan Strait, which have evolved over the last 21 years on the basis of Taiwan Relations Act.
Wei Jung (魏鏞), a former KMT lawmaker and a political analyst at the Vanguard Foundation, said Burghardt's refusal to comment on "one-China" as an issue or as a principle could suggest US policy is changing.
"We know very well that the US government always says it follows Beijing's `one China' policy in handling cross-strait issues. But if the US does not want to define it as an issue or as a principle, the message is there," Wei said.
Burghardt also called attention to the security relationship between Taiwan and the US, which he said was closer than what their official ties can actually allow.
"One of the things I have learned since I have been here is that the security relationship is actually very strong and very good. We have good cooperation. And something that we work on everyday is one of my most important responsibilities," he said.
"Over the past 20 years, the US has viewed our security program as one of the most important aspects of our relationship with Taiwan. At AIT, I consider it to be one of the key reasons why our office is here," he said.
Although US naval warships no longer patrol the Taiwan Strait, the territory of the US navy is still pretty large, covering the entire Pacific region, he said.
US security policy, he emphasized, toward Taiwan and the entire Asia-Pacific region is not just a question of "military strength."
"There are political, economic, and social aspects that are just as important, or perhaps more important, than military hardware in maintaining the peace and in resolving differences," he added.
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