October 29, 1999	atimes.com

China US bill to upgrade Taiwan ties could provoke Beijing By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON - A US Congressional committee, in a move likely to aggravate tension with China, has approved a bill to upgrade US military ties with Taiwan. The bill, a watered-down version of a much tougher bill introduced by right-wing Republicans earlier this year, directs the Pentagon to establish direct communication with the Taiwanese military during future crises and to offer more training to Taiwan's armed forces. The House of Representatives International Relations Committee approved the bill by 32-6 despite government opposition. President Clinton's administration has been working hard to improve relations with Beijing, which reached a 20-year low last May when US warplanes accidentally bombed China's embassy in Belgrade. Assistant Secretary of State for Asian Affairs Stanley Roth said that the bill, which now goes before the full House, could prove ''particularly destabilizing given the current environment'' in the Taiwan Strait. Tension between China and Taipei increased last July after Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui called for the two countries to conduct future relations on a ''special state-to-state'' basis. Beijing interpreted this statement as a move toward declaring the independence of an island that China considers a renegade province and has vowed to unify with the mainland. Lee's statement provoked an outburst of threats from the communist authorities in Beijing, as well as unprecedented show of force by warplanes from both sides over the strait which separates them. Analysts believe that the future status of Taiwan continues to be at the top of Beijing's strategic concerns, although tensions subsided last month after Washington rejected Taiwan's admission to the United Nations and China sent aid after the devastating earthquake that struck Taiwan on September 21. Washington's role is especially delicate. A staunch ally of Taiwan until President Nixon forged a partnership with Beijing to counter the Soviet Union in the 1970s, the United States remains the island's most important arms supplier. Although Washington formally does not recognize the Taipei government, the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act permits the sale of US defensive weapons to the island. It declares that an attack by China on Taiwan would be a matter of ''grave concern'', without commiting the United States to defend it. This strategic ambiguity has led to growing debate within the United States over the past decade. The Soviet Union's collapse, Beijing's repression of the pro-democracy movement, and Taiwan's transition to a democratic government have translated into increased support both for Taiwan's eventual independence and a stronger US defense commitment. Both goals are fervently sought by right-wing Republicans, such as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, who always have been suspicious about Washington's rapprochement with China and see Beijing as the major threat to US global power over the next 50 years. Helms, his Republican allies in both houses, and a number of staunchly anti-communist Democrats have been pushing a bill that would authorize the sale of a wider range of weapon systems to Taiwan. These include a missile-defense grid, a satellite-based early-warning system, attack submarines and top-of-the-line guided-missile destroyers. Taiwan and its supporters argue that, in the absence of an explicit US defense commitment, the island needs such equipment to defend itself, especially against short-range missiles which China has deployed in increasing numbers since 1996. The administration and its supporters, however, have argued that providing Taiwan with sophisticated defensive weapons could be seen by China as part of a strategy to ensure the island's independence and could provoke Beijing at a time of sensitive relations. Senator Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on Helms's committee, said that passing the bill ''would be the equivalent of waving a red cape at the Chinese and inviting them to charge''. More-moderate House Republicans, including the head of the House Asia subcommittee, Rep Doug Bereuter of Nebraska, agreed. ''We should not underestimate the sensitivity of US-China relations when it comes to Taiwan,'' said Bereuter, who held up consideration of the bill for several weeks before Tuesday's vote. The administration is still concerned about China's reaction to any upgrading of the military relationship between Washington and Taipei. ''Even this bill, as watered-down as it is, is going to be a problem for us right now,'' said one senior official. Despite improving relations since Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin met in Auckland last month, US and Chinese officials are no nearer concluding an accord to permit China to join the World Trade Organization, despite a November deadline. And while Beijing has played host to Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, the highest-ranking US official to go to China since the embassy bombing, it has not yet rescheduled a visit by Pentagon chief William Cohen that was cancelled after the incident. (Inter Press Service)

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