The increasingly fractious beef row between Washington and Taipei will not impact arms sales or other aspects of the bilateral relationship, Assistant US Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Kurt Campbell said on Thursday.
Asked if Taiwan’s decision to ban some kinds of US beef would go beyond trade and economic relations and be linked to such vital issues as security and arms sales, Campbell said that it would not.
“There have been some contentious issues associated with the beef decision,” he said. “We’re trying to work closely with our colleagues and friends in Taiwan on a resolution that allows this issue to move forward.”
‘VERY CLEAR’
Campbell said that the administration of US President Barack Obama remained “very clear” about its responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act and on “our larger commitments” to Taiwan and the maintenance of peace across the Taiwan Strait.
“We will continue to maintain a responsible and good unofficial relationship between Washington and Taipei,” he said.
Campbell was speaking at a special press briefing in Washington on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s upcoming trip to Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia.
He refused to comment on threats from China to punish the US if it sells more arms to Taiwan, as expected.
But he added: “I think you know what our long-standing position is, in terms of maintaining our responsibilities and following through on them.”
Campbell was asked whether reports of arms sales to Taiwan, Obama’s decision to meet the Dalai Lama and economic disputes meant this would be a difficult year for US-China relations.
He replied: “There was a recognition at the beginning of the Obama administration that there were going to be a number of issues that required closer and deeper consultation and cooperation between Washington and Beijing — climate change, issues on the Korean Peninsula, the necessary work to help sustain a fragile economic and financial recovery and hopefully assistance on problematic issues like Iran, Afghanistan and the like.”
COMPLICATED
“Over the course of the last several months, there has been dialogue on these issues. The truth is that this is a very complicated relationship. Much of it is cooperative, based on mutual interest. It requires intense interaction on a regular basis,” he said.
Campbell said the US was committed to a “strong, durable relationship” with China, but inevitably there would be contentious issues.
“Our goal is to put in place enough mechanisms, enough consultative procedures that the unintended crises, the mishaps and mistakes, can be dealt with in a responsible and professional way,” he said.
Campbell said: “No one is under any illusions about how challenging the US-China relationship will be over the course of the next several years. But I will say there is also a recognition on both sides that it is incumbent on us to work as closely and as well together as possible.”
Later, Philip Crawley, an assistant secretary for public affairs at the US State Department, was also asked during a press briefing about Chinese objections to US arms sales to Taiwan, particularly Patriot Missile batteries.
Crawley said: “I would reserve comment on any particular system that might be part of our foreign military sales program. But we continue to evaluate Taiwan’s defensive needs, and no decisions have been made.”
“We do make available to Taiwan defense articles and services necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act, and we will continue to do that,” he said.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
‘IMPORTANCE OF PEACE’: President Lai was welcomed by AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others President William Lai (賴清德) was feted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “alohas” as he began his two-day stopover in Hawaii on Saturday, part of a Pacific tour. Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around the US island state, visiting the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s leading museum of natural history and native Hawaiian culture, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Lai was given the “red carpet treatment” on the tarmac of Honolulu’s international airport, his office said, adding that it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such
RSS