US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday that President George W. Bush hasn't even looked at the issue of arms sales to Taiwan yet and that he will make a decision on the matter in due course.
US and Taiwan representatives are scheduled to meet in Washington, DC, on April 23 for their annual discussions on US arms sales to Taiwan.
In an interview on CBS television's Early Show, Rice denied that the Washington-Beijing standoff that followed the mid-air collision between a Chinese jet fighter and a US surveillance aircraft is going to affect the US administration's decision on wether or not to sell arms to Taiwan.
"I can tell you that no one who has responsibility for making a decision has even looked at the Taiwan arms issue just yet," Rice said.
She said that President Bush is presently receiving recommendations about the issue and will make a decision in due time.
"I'm certain that he will consider it in the context of what it takes to help Taiwan defend itself through the Taiwan Relations Act," she pointed out.
In another TV interview with the ABC show Good Morning America, Rice made it clear that the US administration had made no plans during the standoff this month to abandon surveillance flights near China's coast, despite vociferous protests from Beijing.
Rice said such "reconnaissance missions" are part of a broad US national security strategy aimed at peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region and at protecting the US and its allies.
"We're happy to talk to the Chinese government about how we might avoid such an accident in the future.
"But we're going to continue to do what is most effective for our national security strategy," she said.
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