Anger in China over US arms plan for Taiwan
Updated
China has responded angrily to an American proposal to sell $US6.5 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan. China's defence minister says the planned arms deal violates US government policy on Taiwan, and warns Beijing may take "further measures" in protest. But defence analysts believe the spat won't harm Beijing-Washington relations in the long term.
Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Paul Monk, managing director of Austhink and formerly with the Australian Defence Intelligence Organisation; Jian Yang, senior lecturer, Political Studies Department, University of Auckland
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COCHRANE: The US policy on Taiwan has always been a delicate one - they say they support the reunification of the island with China if it's done peacefully, but they have also supplied Taiwan with weapons and promised military assistance if China attacks.
This most recent proposed arms sale includes $US3.1 billion worth of Patriot missiles and advanced systems for defending against a missile attack. Also on Taiwan's shopping list are Apache helicopters, anti-ship missiles and an upgrade to their surveillance aircraft.
The Pentagon has put the arms deal to the US Congress who must decide whether to approve it within a month. China's officially-sanctioned State media said the US deal interfered with China's internal affairs and "poisoned" military relations between the two powers. But Paul Monk, managing director of Austhink Consulting and a former China expert for the Australian Defence Intelligence Organisation, says the Chinese response is noisy but not serious.
MONK: I don't anticipate that there'll be much more than irritated bluff and bluster. The reality is that there's a long standing, if reluctant, understanding between China and the United States that the US under the Taiwan relations Act of 1979 will provide Taiwan with the military hardware it needs to be able at need protect itself. And its hard to see how this could be construed as anything else. We're talking about Patriot missiles, for example, this is in a context when China has been relentlessly building up its capacity to bombard Taiwan with missiles from across the Taiwan strait.
COCHRANE: Monk says that, despite the size of the billion dollar deal, the proposed weapons sale is not a major shift of policy for America.
MONK: The very consistent line of the United States has been, we are not pushing for Taiwanese independence but we do insists it should be settled peacefully and until such a time as its clear that's happening we'll provide what Taiwan needs to defend itself. Now that doesn't mean that China is happy with that. China's line has been that this is an internal affair this cross straits thing and the US is only postponing a settlement by arming Taiwan and by thereby encouraging people in Taiwan to believe they can indefinitely postpone reunification.
COCHRANE: Another analyst says China may try to exert pressure on the United States in other diplomatic ways, perhaps by backing out of disarmament talks with North Korea. Jian Yang is a senior lecture from the Political Studies Department at the University of Auckland.
YANG: I don't think that Beijing has much leverage actually over this, it very often depends on the goodwill of Washington. And Beijing could bargain through other issues, for example the current North Korean issue. Beijing normally would say, okay if you continue to sell arms to Taiwan we are not going to be very cooperative on other international issues. That is the area where Beijing could really impose some pressure upon Washington.
COCHRANE: However, Paul Monk from Austhink, says the arms deal needs to be seen in a wider security context. Monk says the rapid growth of China's army, combined with the value of Taiwan, not just as a piece of territory but also as a strategic part of controlling the western Pacific, make the deal worth watching.
MONK: So US arms sales to try to keep Taiwan able to fend off direct pressure, or if push came to shove, military assault, is a very crucial and very sensitive part of this overall equation.
