Politics

US not to link arms to beef issue

• Publication Date：01/05/2010
• Source： United Daily News

Washington has decided not to link arms sales to Taiwan to the issue of beef exports to the island, sources familiar with the matter said.

According to the sources, the U.S. administration is set to send the list of items in the planned arms sale package to Congress for review and approval at the end of this month or the start of next month at the earliest.

The arms package is said to include 60 Black Hawk transport helicopters, two Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile batteries, and first-stage feasibility studies on acquiring diesel-powered submarines, but not the sale of F-16 C/D fighter aircraft.

Sources said because the items in the package had all been approved for sale by the administration of then President George W. Bush in 2008, the current administration’s move to proceed with the sale is not expected to arouse too great a reaction from Beijing.

The administration of President Barrack Obama had originally planned to proceed with the arms sale plans set out in October 2008 by sending the list of items to Congress before its winter recess. However, because many members had raised objections to the Bush administration’s move at that time to approve the arms sale package before notifying Congress, Obama’s team decided to hold off on sending the list until after Congress reconvenes in mid-January.

This decision based on considerations of maintaining harmony between the executive and legislative branches of government has been the main reason behind the delay in announcing the arms sales package to Taiwan, according to the sources.

With mainland Chinese President Hu Jintao set to visit the United States in March, the Obama administration will likely inform Congress shortly after it reconvenes so that it can carry out closed-door review as soon as possible. This will allow the administration to announce the arms sale by mid-February, well ahead of Hu’s visit, in order to avoid any possible negative impact on Washington-Beijing relations.

Meanwhile, national security officials from Taiwan confirmed that the Legislature’s move to pass legal amendments aimed at restricting certain U.S. beef imports has led to retaliation from Washington on the economic front.

Deputy minister-level talks on the proposed U.S.-Taiwan trade and investment framework agreement originally set to resume this month have been delayed indefinitely. The officials said there is no way of assessing when the negotiations will be relaunched.

To date, the Taiwan government has not received any formal reactions from the U.S. Department of State or the National Security Council concerning the U.S. beef issue, the sources said, pointing out that the impact will likely “remain confined to the economic front.”

Officials said that the U.S. administration may lodge protests against the planned move to restrict U.S. beef imports and could move to impose sanctions on certain products in retaliation.

Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chi said that the government is doing all that it can to communicate with Washington in order to “reduce the impact” of the row over U.S. beef imports. (SB)