US-Taiwan relations are steadily recovering after hitting a low point in 2003 when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) visited the US, said former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage on Friday.
Currently, the US and Taiwan enjoy constructive relations, he said.
Armitage made the remarks when speaking to reporters at his Washington-based consulting firm.
He said US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns had called President Chen Shui-bian (
The upswing in US-Taiwan relations, Armitage said, was behind the US' decision to allow Chen to transit in the continental US.
Taiwan's efforts to protect intellectual property rights has had a strong positive impact on relations, renewing the US' confidence in the nation, Armitage said.
However, he said Taiwan's internal political troubles have probably convinced Beijing that it is effectively manipulating the country without the use of force. Peace in the Strait, Armitage said, should be due to the "right reasons."
Speaking on the topic of former US Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte's recent appointment as Deputy Secretary of State, Armitage said Negroponte was an expert in East Asian affairs, and that his appointment would have a positive impact on the region.
Armitage also warned that China was taking advantage of the US' preoccupation with Iraq and anti-terrorism operations by scrambling to fill a power vacuum in Latin America and Africa.
The US should pay increased attention to those regions, he said, adding that the time had come for APEC to consider forming a pan-Asia multilateral security framework.
While serving as US Deputy Secretary of State, Armitage said on multiple occasions that the US was not obligated to defend Taiwan per the Taiwan Relations Act.
Clarifying the US' military commitments to Taiwan, Armitage said on Friday that the US was only obligated to sell weapons to Taiwan and maintain a strong military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The US was not obligated to dispatch troops to Taiwan to defend the country, he said, adding that the decision whether to send troops in wartime was a political one.
Washington was paying close attention to Taiwan's potential presidential candidates, and the US was confident that the country's future leaders would put a premium on the mutual interests of the US and Taiwan, Armitage said.
He encouraged Taiwanese leaders to stress cooperation and unity with the US, saying Taiwan's concern for democratic development and human rights were beneficial to US-Taiwan relations.
Armitage expressed support for a US-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement, saying the US should help Taiwan stake out more diplomatic room.
However, if Taiwan were to declare independence, such a move would be considered a unilateral change to the status quo, evoking the US' displeasure, he said.
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