Home · Maps · About

view threaded

USA stabbing Taiwan over UN seat?

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Sep 14 02:22:33 2007

---

September 11, 2007

US-Taiwan: status quo strain

In Washington, Taiwan expresses its frustration over US insistence to maintain the status quo rather than accepting the 'reality', as the island republic seeks a UN seat under the name Taiwan.

By Peter Buxbaum in Washington, DC for ISN Security Watch (11/09/07)

Strains in US-Taiwan relations were evident when a frustrated Taiwanese president addressed an audience in Washington last week from Taipei, by way of a video hookup.

That relations between Taipei and Washington should be strained is in itself remarkable, since there are no official ties between the two countries.

But the Bush administration has come down hard on Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian and his plan to hold a popular referendum on whether the Republic of China - the official name of the island republic - should apply to the UN under the name Taiwan.

"Taiwan for a long time has been the obedient child of the United States, a student who behaves well," said Chen, speaking through a translator. "There are many policy areas in which we are in agreement, but these should not be taken for granted."

Chen was insisting, in other words, that he would press forward with his referendum plans, despite US objections. More than that, Chen was complaining that the US had cut off meaningful communications with his government.

"In the past, we have had good communications channels and substantive dialog with senior administration officials," said Chen. "These are lacking currently."

Since 1979, Taiwan has occupied a shadowy space in US policy. In January of that year, the US changed its diplomatic recognition of China's government from Taipei to Beijing. The People's Republic of China had already occupied the China seat in the UN since 1971, when its predecessor, the delegation from the Republic of China, was expelled.

In a 1979 Washington-Beijing joint communiqué, the US recognized the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and acknowledged the Chinese position that there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China.

Later in 1979, however, the US Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which authorized unofficial US relations with Taiwan through the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US. The same legislation also authorized the sale of defensive military equipment to Taiwan.

The current US position on Taiwan, as reflected in a statement by President George W Bush in December 2003, is to oppose any attempt by either side to unilaterally alter the status quo. The US specifically does not support Taiwan independence, but does support Taiwan's membership in international organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, the APEC forum and the Asian Development Bank.

'Reality' vs status quo

Taiwan's bid for UN membership, under whatever name, is clearly seen as a breach of the status quo by the Bush administration. "The United States is not opposed to referenda in principle," said a State Department spokesperson. "The United States opposes any initiative that appears designed to change Taiwan's status unilaterally. This would include a referendum on whether to apply to the United Nations under the name Taiwan."

The State Department sees an application for UN membership as a possible first step towards a Taiwanese declaration of independence.

"We believe it's important to avoid any kind of provocative steps on the part of Taiwan," said the spokesperson. "We believe that pursuing a referendum of this kind could be interpreted as a step towards a declaration of independence, and we do not believe that that would be a constructive way on the part of the Taiwan authorities to pursue their interests."

Chen does not deny that Taiwan's UN application would change the diplomatic status quo, but he does insist that it reflects reality.

"We wish to apply for membership in the United Nations as a new member state," he said. "Taiwan is an independent country and not part of the People's Republic of China. Sovereignty rests with its 23 million people and there is no need to for anyone to tell them that Taiwan is a country. Taiwan and the PRC are separate countries. Neither exercises jurisdiction on the other side of the Taiwan Straits."

The fact that Taiwan would not be applying for membership under its official name should not be seen as an aggressive move, according to Gary Schmitt, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a neoconservative think tank based in Washington.

"Plenty of states do not use their official names," he said. "These include China, Greece and Macedonia."

Chen stressed Taiwan's pragmatism and reasonableness in the approach it is taking. Taiwan's abandonment of its official name, the Republic of China, with respect to its application for UN membership is a bow to political reality, he argued.

"We understand well that the political term Republic of China was designed to deny the legality of the government of the People's Republic of China," he said. "We are not applying to rejoin the United Nations" and threaten the PRC seat, "but as a new member state. This shows that Taiwan is pragmatic and responsible in its desire to be accepted by the world community. Applying for UN membership has never been seen as a provocative act except in the case of Taiwan."

Refocusing on East Asia

Other experts agree with Chen's perception that the US is neglecting its relationships in East Asia. Some blame this on its preoccupation with Iraq.

"The US needs to rebalance its portfolio and refocus on Asia," said Kurt Campbell, chief executive of the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based policy advocacy group. "Most important dialogs involving Asia are going on with the US seat empty."

Campbell believes the US owes Taiwan a debt of gratitude for its help in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts and called on Congress to play a more active roll in shaping policy in East Asia.

Chen is also pinning some of his hopes on the Democratic Congress. "Congress should step up and play a proper role," he said. "For decades, Taiwan has been a loyal and obedient partner of the United States. Now we are left to ask what went wrong."

Other observers reflected Chen's frustrated attitude. "There is an increasingly negative tone in the bilateral dialog," said Michael Green, a professor of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington. "The US needs to recognize that this is a fundamental issue of identity for Taiwan and not a tactical move. The issue of national identity is at the top of the agenda in every country in Asia."

Green added that negotiating a US-Taiwan free trade agreement could help clarify the relationship between the two countries. "Taiwan has an interest in locking itself into the broader Asia trade architecture," he said.

Taiwan could be admitted to the UN as a "functionally competent entity" rather than as a sovereign state, according to Vincent Wang, an associate professor of political science at the University of Richmond in Virginia.

"In this era of globalization, functional competency is replacing the notion of sovereignty," he contended. "Acceptance of Taiwan's United Nations application would involve decoupling Taiwan as a governmental organization from diplomatic recognition."

It would also take an amendment to the UN charter, Wang noted.

Chen's appeal to the US and the world community also emphasized that the government of the People's Republic may also be working to change the status quo across the Taiwan straits.

"The People's Republic of China has not renounced the use of force," Chen argued. "It has deployed ballistic missiles on its southeast coast aimed at Taiwan. There are currently 988 missiles and they are increasing at over 100 per year."

Chen also claimed the People's Liberation Army had a three-stage military plan for war against Taiwan, which included establishing a combat capability by the end of this year, a large-scale military engagement by 2010, and victory by 2015.

Chen acknowledged that Taiwan was unlikely to succeed in attaining UN membership without the support of the US. He noted that the current Bush administration was considering the sale of F-16C/D fighter aircraft to Taiwan and held out the hope that the eventual approval of that sale-perhaps at the tail end of the Bush administration-might also be accompanied by a diplomatic shift.

More likely, however, Chen will have to pin his hopes on the next US administration for any substantial change in the US diplomatic stance with respect to Taiwan.

---

Post a New Response