Taiwan’s plan to buy billions of dollars’ of US weaponry reflects its need to maintain leverage in talks with China despite seemingly improved cross-strait relations, analysts in Taipei said yesterday.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has lauded his government for improving ties with Beijing since coming to power in 2008 and observers believe he intends to go further by broaching sensitive political issues — but that will require a strong negotiating hand.
The US$6.4 billion arms package agreed by the US’ Pentagon on Friday, which includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, mine-hunting ships and communications equipment for Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets, could do just that.
PHOTO: AFP
“Taiwan needs the weapons to ensure it has bargaining chips in future negotiations with China,” said Tung Chen-yuan (童振源), a political scientist at Taipei’s National Chengchi University.
Ma struck a similar chord on Saturday, saying that the arms would pave the way for more interactions with China since they would make Taiwan feel “more confident and secure.”
Ma’s promise to strengthen the economy through improved ties with China has led to a series of minor agreements as well as the first formal talks last week on preparing a sweeping free-trade agreement. Analysts believe Ma’s ambitions go further and could including talks on political issues if he is elected for a second and final term in 2012. For example, the two sides could begin discussing a formal peace treaty, they said.
But Taiwan is negotiating from a steadily deteriorating position, as China with more than 50 times as many people, is becoming ever more powerful politically, economically and militarily.
“China is targeting Taiwan with over 1,000 missiles and shows no sign of relaxing its military deployment,” said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), who is also a member of the legislative Foreign and National Defense Committee. “Taiwan has to be prepared before the two sides can sign a peace agreement for a formal political reconciliation.”
China’s military spending rose 15.3 percent last year to US$69 billion, according to a budget submitted to parliament in March, the latest in more than a decade-long string of double-digit increases.
By contrast, Taiwan’s military budget for last year was about US$10 billion.
“Despite improving ties, China’s military threat still exists and there is an imbalance in strength between the two sides,” said Kenneth Wang, a military expert at Taipei’s Tamkang University. “With China’s rapidly increasing military budget, Taiwan must do what it can to enhance its defense capabilities.”
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s top representative to the US, Jason Yuan (袁健生), on Saturday said Washington has reassured him that its policy on selling arms to Taiwan remains unchanged and that it will not “consult” Beijing on any such sale.
Yuan said a ranking US official in charge of Asia-Pacific affairs gave him the assurance immediately after US National Security Advisor General James Jones suggested that the US consult with China on arms sales to Taiwan.
Media reports say Jones indicated that the announcement of the sale should not “come as a surprise to our Chinese friends,” and that the US “will consult in a transparent way.”
Yuan said he was told by the US official that Washington would “notify” China and Taiwan about arms sales to Taiwan, but would not “consult” Beijing on any such plan.
The US announced arms package did not include, however, the advanced F-16C/D fighter planes and diesel-electric submarines long sought by Taiwan.
Yuan said the US has never shut the door to sales of F-16 fighters and submarines to Taiwan.
The decision on selling F-16C/D fighters or offering submarines to Taiwan will not be deferred beyond when the US administration has completed an assessment of Taiwan’s defensive capabilities, he said.
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