The six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program concluded yesterday. Although the three-day talks did not arrive at any concrete plans to resolve the crisis, they went smoothly, with all attendees showing willingness to sit down for discussion and then agreeing to continue their efforts in October.
Although each of the participants had different reasons for joining the talks, they achieved a consensus on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the substitution of peaceful negotiations for military conflict. The talks bogged down on Pyongyang's demands that the US agree to a non-aggression treaty and resume economic aid before it dismantles its nuclear facilities, while the US insisted that it scrap its nuclear program before discussing peace agreements. This is inevitable given their antagonism over the past 50 years. The two sides need more time to assure themselves of their counterpart's sincerity.
North Korea, however, does not have a good credit record. It signed a joint statement with South Korea in 1992, and in 1994 it signed an agreement with the US to eliminate nuclear weapons. In 2000, the summit between former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung and his Pyongyang counterpart Kim Jong-il came to naught because North Korea did not abide by its earlier agreements. The many attempts by the two sides to resolve the issue have failed, forcing the international community to take action. If the six-nation talks prove effective, this mechanism could be used for handling future summits between the two Koreas.
If international multi-lateralism is able to help manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula, it should be possible to extend this model to the cross-strait issue. Although the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait is not as pressing as the North Korean issue, China has still deployed 450 missiles aimed at Taiwan. This number is increasing every year and China remains unwilling to give up the option to use armed force to "liberate" Taiwan. The Taiwan Strait is seen as one of East Asia's powder kegs and an issue that cannot be ignored.
Just as on the Korean Peninsula, there have been two meetings between the two sides -- the Koo-Wang talks -- but due to a mutual lack of trust, the "one-China principle" is the key issue and stumbling block in cross-strait talks. The government once hoped that cross-strait economic and trade disputes could be resolved through the WTO's negotiation mechanism following the two countries' accession to the WTO. Business-dispute resolution would build mutual trust and political talks could then begin gradually.
Unfortunately, not only has China refused to negotiate cross-strait economic and trade affairs under the WTO framework, but it has pressured the WTO Secretariat to change Taiwan's current WTO title: "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei)." As a result, all Taiwan's efforts to resolve the cross-strait issue through existing international organizations have been in vain.
Cross-strait talks must break away from the current pattern and a breakthrough can be obtained only by inviting additional parties. An international mechanism similar to the six-nation North Korea talks is one possibility worth considering. If a five-nation negotiation mechanism could be built between Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore and the US, it would help push Beijing to remove its missiles pointed at Taiwan, smooth cross-strait relations, build a basis of mutual trust and promote regular cross-strait exchanges.
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