Using the most forceful language to date, a senior US official has said that Washington opposes Taiwan independence and has urged both sides to resolve their differences as soon as possible.
"We're opposed to Taiwan independence," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told reporters Wednesday.
Wolfowitz made his comments at a press conference on the eve of a trip to Singapore, where he will attend a meeting of East Asian defense ministers and other government and private defense experts to discuss Asian security issues. The meeting, sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, is the first in what Wolfowitz says may become an annual affair.
Wolfowitz' comments are believed to be the most direct expression by a senior George W. Bush administration official of Washington's concern that Taiwan will unilaterally declare its independence.
In a recent speech, Wolfowitz said that Washington "has no intention, has no desire to separate Taiwan from the mainland." Asked to clarify that statement, Wolfowitz said, "I just think it's another way of saying we're opposed to Taiwan independence."
Asked whether the statement means the US foresees a unified Taiwan and China, Wolfowitz said, "I think the president has been very clear, that we support a `one China' policy; that means we do not support independence for Taiwan."
Wolfowitz also repeated recent statements made by him and other administration officials urging an early resolution of the cross-strait standoff, but denied that this stems from any new sense of urgency that Washington has injected into its Taiwan policy.
He said the message he will bring to the Singapore conference is "that it is essential that those issues which are serious issues be resolved peacefully. And I think the sooner and more clearly a peaceful approach is taken, the better the chances are for solving those issues. But the use of force should not be acceptable."
Asked whether this reflects a new urgency on Washington's part, Wolfowitz said, "the commitment to a peaceful approach may mean that one has to be very patient, but the patience is worth it. What I think I did say was the sooner the PRC adopts a peaceful approach to Taiwan, the sooner it will solve the problems.
"I didn't say it was urgent to solve them soon. I just think if you want them solved, a peaceful approach is the way to go, not threats and not confrontation."
Wolfowitz also said that it is unclear whether an increasingly strong China would emerge as a force for peace in East Asia or as a ``threatening power.''
"China's future is very much to be shaped," he said.
At present, he said, China cannot be categorized. "You can't put it in a box."
He said it was extremely important for "Chinese and non-Chinese" to ensure that China evolves as a force for peace.
"It seems almost certain that China is going to be more powerful. That's certainly the trajectory that it's on," Wolfowitz said.
On another matter, Wolfowitz dismissed a comment made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a press conference with President George W. Bush after their summit meeting in Moscow in which Putin complained about alleged missile developments in Taiwan. Many observers have interpreted the remark as criticizing a Taiwan military buildup with the US helping.
Wolfowitz, denying that Putin meant to say that, said, "We're not doing anything with Taiwan in the missile area, and we're certainly not doing anything in the nuclear area."
He said Putin may have mistakenly been referring to an American effort to deal with North Korea.
In the Putin-Bush press conference, Putin was asked a question on non-proliferation, "In addition to Iran," he said, "we also need to think about other countries here. For example, we have some questions concerning the development of missile programs in Taiwan, [and] in some other countries where we've been witnessing active work of producing mass destruction weapons and their carriers."
US officials say they do not know what Putin was referring to.
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