The US House of Representatives Wednesday approved by a 411-3 vote a resolution condemning the EU's intention to lift its arms embargo on China, saying the move would imperil peace and stability in East Asia.
The resolution calls on US President George W. Bush to urge European leaders during his planned trip to the continent later this month to "reconsider this unwise course of action" and to close loopholes in the embargo and Europe's arms export rules to prevent any future sales of arms or related technology to China.
Beijing's military buildup and its strategic policies "remain shrouded in mystery" and "imply challenges for ... United States commitments and interests related to the defense of numerous friends and allies in the region, particularly Taiwan and Japan," the resolution says.
"The United States has numerous national interests in the Asia and Pacific region, including the security of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and other key areas," it says. As a result, US armed forces could be endangered because China is "increasingly well-armed and may seek to settle long-standing territorial and political disputes in the region by the threat and use of force."
It also notes that despite the embargo, European arms sales to China doubled between 2002 and 2003 to US$540 million.
The resolution, which was passed under special House "suspension" rules that allow for quick consideration and vote, was sponsored by International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, the committee's ranking Democrat, Tom Lantos and two others.
In an address to the floor of the House, Lantos zeroed in on the implications for Taiwan. Expressing optimism that cross-strait relations could be settled peacefully, Lantos said, "despite these factors working in favor of peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is possible mainland hardliners might push for military action against Taiwan after the 2008 Olympics, or that conflict in the Strait may begin because of miscalculation by either side."
"It is in this context that the European Union's current deliberations on the lifting of its arms embargo on China are so outrageous," Lantos said, adding that "I remain optimistic that tensions across the Taiwan Strait can be resolved peacefully, and that the United States will not be drawn into a Taiwan-related conflict.".
"Key policymakers in Beijing fully understand that military action against Taiwan would spark international isolation, possible military conflict with the United States and a certain boycott of the much-prized 2008 Olympics in Beijing," he said.
"Taiwan's leaders, for their part, fully understand that the increasing economic ties between Taiwan and the mainland would be threatened by provocative steps." "President Chen [Shui-bian (陳水扁)] and Vice President [Annette Lu (呂秀蓮)] in Taiwan fully understand that Taiwan must negotiate with the mainland from a position of strength, which requires immediate approval by Taiwan's legislature of a supplemental defense package," Lantos said.
Steve Chabot, a co-chairman of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, said that lifting the embargo would quickly tip the military balance in the Strait in Beijing's favor.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would bring up the issue with European leaders in her trip to seven European capitals beginning today.
Rice told reporters that in view of the Human Rights concerns that led to the embargo in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in Beijing, "one has to be very careful not to send the wrong signal about human rights. And, of course, we do have concerns about the strategic military considerations of doing so."
Asked whether she is resigned to the actual lifting of the embargo, Rice said, "we're not resigned to anything. I think at this point we need to continue to discuss it and work it out."
She declined to discuss any possible US retaliation against the EU if the embargo is lifted. Some members of Congress have discussed imposing some sort of retaliation, including imposing restrictions on transfers to Europe.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed welcome yesterday for the passage of the resolution.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
RSS