A new study by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation recommends that the US greatly increase its ties to Taiwan to “rebalance” the US’ relationship with China.
“Washington should take steps to indicate that, as the world’s sole superpower and largest economy, it has a range of both military-related and non-military options available if cooperation with China continues to come up empty,” said Dean Cheng (成斌), a research fellow in Chinese Political and Security Affairs at the foundation.
Cheng, author of the report US-China Cooperation: Strengthening the US Hand, produced the study in response to speculation that China’s decision not to meet US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates last week was a direct result of “their continued pique with US arms sales to Taiwan.”
Gates wanted to visit Beijing last week — while in Asia for other meetings — to discuss North Korea and Iran, but failed to win an invitation because the Chinese leadership decided it was “not convenient.”
“This incident suggests that military-to-military relations between the PRC [People’s Republic of China] and the United States remain at a low point despite efforts by the [US President Barack] Obama Administration to reset Beijing-Washington relations,” Cheng said
“It also suggests that the Chinese view military-to-military talks and other US interests as somehow irrelevant to their own,” he said. “Taking back some of the concessions the Chinese have pocketed over the years would be a good way of rebalancing the relationship to US advantage.”
He said it would demonstrate what is at stake for Chinese officials in the relationship and perhaps make them more amenable to more balanced cooperation in future.
In the report, Cheng made four recommendations.
First, he said the US should proceed with the sale of F-16C/D fighters to Taiwan.
“Just as delaying the visit of the Dalai Lama sent the wrong signal that the US was considering altering its interactions with the Tibetan leader, so continued delay on the sale of badly needed fighter aircraft to Taiwan will only mislead Beijing into thinking it has more leverage on this issue than it does,” Cheng said.
Second, he urges Obama to dispatch Cabinet secretaries to Taiwan on a more regular basis.
“Over the past year there has been talk of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki visiting the island. This would be a good start. The symbolism of a former chief of staff of the Army visiting the island would not be lost on either side of the [Taiwan] Straits,” he wrote.
Third, Chen said the White House should seriously pursue a free-trade agreement with Taiwan.
“Such a measure would remind China that the US has non-military levers at its disposal. Moreover, such a move would help the administration attain its avowed goal of doubling US exports. Unlike the PRC, Taiwan is also a potentially valuable high-technology trading partner, as Taipei’s commitment to the protection of intellectual property rights is stronger than Beijing’s,” he wrote.
Lastly, Chen wrote that more regular interaction between US and Taiwan defense officials would be preferable.
Given the continued US defense commitment to Taiwan, Chen wrote, greater familiarity between the defense and military officials in Taipei and Washington is essential.
“All of these recommendations are good ideas in their own right, not chips to be traded for China’s cooperation on matters that should be of mutual concern, like North Korea’s nuclear threat or military-to-military consultation,” he wrote.
“Proceeding with them, however, will remind Beijing that maintaining good relations with Washington is in the PRC’s own interest and not a matter of China granting favors to a supplicant,” Cheng wrote.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS