Commentaries
Taiwan's Defense Hobbled by U.S. Arms "Freeze
The word is sweeping Washington -- or at least the Taiwan-watchers in Washington (including those in the Chinese embassy) -- that the Bush Administration is continuing its "freeze" of eight major defense packages necessary to Taiwan's security. President Bush's failure to submit congressional notifications for the multibillion-dollar Taiwanese arms tranche raises the prospect that he is washing his hands of Taiwan's security concerns.
Taiwan Arms Sales: Less Than Meets the Eye
After more than seven years of waiting, there is reason to celebrate the final approval of a $6.4 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan. Unfortunately, there is less to this package than meets the eye. Rather than addressing Taipei's deteriorating military balance against China's rapidly modernizing and expanding forces, these approvals provide gasps of new oxygen to Taiwan's aging defenses, which were starved of air initially by domestic politics and then, for the last year, by Washington's concern about Beijing's ire.
Georgia: Olympic Invasion: China, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Russia's Aggression
Friday, August 8, was the holiest day in China's 2008 calendar. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush were in Beijing (along with 54 other heads of state and 15 prime ministers) to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. Russia also invaded Georgia that day. China shrugged off the Russian desecration of the sacred date, but the invasion sent shudders through Russia's former Soviet republics.
Bush administration decision weakens Taiwan's position
by John Tkacik, Jr. , Gary Schmitt '
Not long after becoming president in 2001, George Bush said he would do "anything it takes to help Taiwan defend herself." But when he leaves office in January, he will have created a situation that seriously undermines that pledge.
The Bush administration had blocked nearly $16 billion in U.S. arms transfers to Taiwan.
Beijing's Olympic Message: China Will Do What It Wants
The blazing pageantry of the Beijing Olympics -- the most spectacular Olympian celebration in over 70 years -- is rightfully being heralded as the symbol of China' arrival as a global power. The bright Olympic spotlight showed the world a Chinese communist regime that is secure in its power, even if not in its legitimacy. While China cared deeply about the impression it made during its time in the international limelight (cared to the tune of $44 billion) such concern does not extend outside the Olympic venues.
Taiwan's Election Changes the Context of U.S.-Taiwan Relations
Most observers in Washington believe that President Chen Shui-bian's victory in the March 20 election will be sustained through the recounts and the independent investigation into the assassination attempt and official Washington is now coming to the realization that his victory marks a dramatic turning-point in Taiwan's history. It also presents American policy makers with a new context for the United States' relationship with Taiwan.
Offer Real Support, Not Excuses, for Taiwan's WHO Bid
Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) will be a major topic at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva on May 17-22, 2004. The United States should take the lead in supporting Taiwan's participation in the WHO and other international bodies because it is in the U.S. national interest. The more Taiwan is accepted into the international community as a valuable contributor, the less legitimate is China's claim of a legal right to use force against Taiwan. Delegitimizing the use of force in the Taiwan Strait also lessens the likelihood of conflict.
Needed: High-level Contacts between U.S. and Taiwan MilitaryCommanders
In March 1996, when Chinese ballistic missiles were splashing into waters off Taiwan's two major ports-closing the heavily-traveled Taiwan Strait to international maritime traffic for days-the Clinton Administration sent two carrier task forces to the vicinity to persuade Beijing to quiet things down. But none of the commanders on those American ships had ever done contingency consulting with Taiwan defense officials. Nor did they have secure communication links to Taiwan's navy.
End U.S. Foot-Dragging on Taiwan Sale
Should the United States treat Taiwan like any other friendly or allied country?
This question has become more critical recently as U.S. President George W. Bush's administration has delayed issuing a routine congressional notification of arms sales to Taipei. There is growing fear that Chinese pressure is taking a toll, and every hint of U.S. reluctance only further emboldens Beijing.
China's Power Struggle by the Sea
When China's Xinhua news agency published an adulatory report of a conference at the seaside resort of Beidaihe on August 5, [1] I was puzzled. Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao had banned these meetings as a waste of money and time - they were boondoggles. And China's media (at least the press that wasn't totally in the control of the Central Propaganda Department) praised President Hu's policy as a "populist measure in support of good government" (qinmin qinglian).
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