U.S.State.Dept/Daily Press Briefing : China-Taiwan ...

[bich dao <daotb@yahoo.com>]

US arms sales to Taiwan are generally opposed by China;
            US acts in accordance with Taiwan Relations Act, 1972
            US-China communiques. No extraordinary developments
            by China noted.
 CHINA/
 TAIWAN
             
 7-8,10
            US has urged Taiwan and China to dialogue, resolve
            problems in peaceful manner. US will continue to assist
            Taiwan with its legitimate defense needs. US has made no
            decision to provide theater missile defense, other than to
            protect US forces. Use of force to resolve any dispute
            would be of grave concern to the US.

. . . . . . WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1999
                            Briefer: JAMES P. RUBIN  :


QUESTION: Do you have any comment on the detention of an American and
an Australian in China in Qinghai Province?

MR. RUBIN: Immediately after hearing of this detention, we requested --
and have since been granted -- consular access.
The consular officer will be on the first available flight to Qinghai
Province and will arrive late Friday evening. We have
urged the Chinese to release the American. We understand they were
preparing an independent study of the impact of a
proposed World Bank project. That is our understanding of the
situation.

QUESTION: I'm wondering, has China communicated recently to the United
States that it wants to see America gradually
reduce arms sales to Taiwan, saying that such sales are destabilizing
to the region and the world? Did such demands -- if they
were to be classified that way -- come in a letter from President Jiang
Zemin to President Clinton?

MR. RUBIN: Let me say that President Clinton and President Jiang have
exchanged correspondence on several occasions in
recent months. The Secretary of State has spoken to the Foreign
Minister on several occasions in recent months.

My experience has been that whenever the subject of Taiwan comes up --
and especially at times when the subject is of
greater interest -- that the Chinese position has been to oppose arms
sales to Taiwan in general and to make the points that
you made.

That is a continuing position of China; they continue to have that
view. We continue to take the view that we are guided by the
Taiwan Relations Act and the three communiqués, and will act in
accordance with those to provide the equipment we think
appropriate to Taiwan.

QUESTION: Can I just follow that, too? Do you have any comment, just
reaction to the ambassador's statements today
basically saying that Taiwan is not Florida, and that the US should not
interfere in internal matters of Taiwan and China?

MR. RUBIN: Well, our relations with China and our unofficial relations
with Taiwan have been guided by the Taiwan
Relations Act and the three communiqués for many years. We think the
differences between China and Taiwan can be
resolved peacefully. We think our policy promotes that kind of peaceful
resolution, and is to the benefit to the people of
Taiwan as well as to the people of China.

So we act pursuant to those guidelines in a way in which we think
promotes peace in the region and promotes the welfare and
well-being of the people of Taiwan and the people of China.

QUESTION: The US still has not seen any extraordinary developments on
the part of Beijing in terms of movements?

MR. RUBIN: No, we have not seen any extraordinary developments.

QUESTION: The Taiwan Cabinet has announced plans to put forth to
Parliament the idea of setting up an early warning
system to detect airborne Chinese planes and missiles and, ultimately,
to have a total missile defense system. First of all,
what's your view of that proposal? And in the event Taiwan goes ahead
with some early warning system, would the United
States be prepared to help with equipment or advice?

MR. RUBIN: First of all, those are obviously decisions that Taiwan has
made. With respect to our involvement in them, let
me say that Taiwan's security in the region depends on more than a
balance of weapons systems. We have strongly urged both
China and Taiwan to engage in dialogue and to resolve differences in a
peaceful manner. That is one of the key components
of security in the region. The record clearly shows that good US-China
relations contribute to reduced tensions in the region.

With respect to the specific suggestion on theater missile defense, let
me say that we will continue to assist Taiwan in
meeting its legitimate self-defense needs in accordance with the Taiwan
Relations Act and consistent with the 1982 joint
communiqué with China.

Among the items Taiwan has already purchased has been technology for
Taiwan's modified air defense system, which has
anti-aircraft and anti-missile capabilities. The Taiwan authorities are
assessing their own capability and needs for missile
defense, as these comments and suggestions you reported indicate. We
have made no US decisions here in the United States
on deployment of theater missile defense systems, other than for the
protection of American forces in the region.

We do not preclude the possible sale of theater missile defense systems
to Taiwan in the future. Our interest is in preserving
peace and stability in the region. It is premature to make that
decision about theater missile development now, when those
systems are still under development and both we and others are studying
this question.

QUESTION: Does it concern you at all that the Chinese Ambassador
repeatedly today refused to rule out the option of the
use of force by China against Taiwan?

MR. RUBIN: Well, we've been operating for many years now, as I said in
response to the previous question, under a
framework in which our relations have been guided by the Taiwan
Relations Act and the various communiqués. We believe
that has been to the benefit of the people of China, the people of
Taiwan and stability in the region.

For some time now, the Chinese have taken the position you describe.
There is nothing new about them taking that position;
they've been taking it for years.

QUESTION: What's your reaction to it?

MR. RUBIN: We believe very strongly, and have said very strongly, that
all the dispute between China and Taiwan must be
resolved peacefully. We've made clear that the use of force would be a
matter of grave concern to the United States.

QUESTION: Follow-up on that. I know that last week you hadn't heard
this, but I wondered whether this week people in
think tanks were passing on the message they've been receiving from
Chinese officials --

MR. RUBIN: I'm not aware of that.

QUESTION: -- on the inevitability of some kind of military gesture by
the Chinese.

MR. RUBIN: I'm aware of the reports about it; I'm not aware that any of
those reported outsiders have talked to our people.
They haven't told me. I can't rule it out; I'm just unaware of it.

QUESTION: -- the ratcheting up of the rhetoric in the
government-controlled media; for instance, the statement that a neutron
bomb can take care of an aircraft carrier?

MR. RUBIN: Well, let me just say that we, as a matter of policy, would
view with grave concern any use of force to resolve
that dispute. We do not want to engage in a to-ing and fro-ing on who
can do what under what circumstances. But we would
view with grave concern any use of force.

QUESTION: Two seconds -- and I don't want to split hairs. I want to go
back to the two people that were detained in China.
Is there some reason that you aren't calling on the Chinese to release
the Australian?

MR. RUBIN: There's no particular reason. Again, as the State Department
for the United States, our primary responsibility
is to American citizens overseas.

QUESTION: Yes, but, I mean, you're also calling on the Iranians for the
release of --

MR. RUBIN: I'm going to get to that, OK? So when an American is taken
in a situation like this, the first thing we do is call
for the American to be released. Then we seek access to him, pursuant
to the Vienna Convention. 

I will have to check, but I don't see any reason why the Australian
shouldn't be released either. It certainly would be our view
that anyone in this position ought not to be imprisoned for doing what
was envisaged by the World Bank; and that is to
examine the project in that area that the Chinese themselves indicated
they would provide access to.

So -- provided there weren't some internal laws broken, which I'm not
familiar with -- we call for people in that position to
be released.

QUESTION: Tell me what exactly the status is of the nomination of
Admiral Prueher as Ambassador to China. It seems to
me that at this point in time with everything going on in the US-China
relationship that it's really vital to have an ambassador
there. It would seem that placing that on fast track would put us in a
-- 

MR. RUBIN: It is the prerogative of the President to nominate
ambassadors for countries; so therefore, that question is best
directed at the White House. I don't believe they've nominated an
ambassador formally. So anything I say will be
inappropriate.

QUESTION: The Chinese ambassador this morning seemed to be particularly
concerned that American defense of Taiwan
would become an issue in the presidential campaign. For instance,
George W. Bush yesterday promised that if he becomes
president he would defend Taiwan's independence. The ambassador said
this morning, "A few American politicians have
already said the US would defend Taiwan against invasion. I believe
this is a very dangerous statement. The Chinese people
will not be cowed by anybody's threats or blackmail." Are you concerned
that this delicate issue of whether or not we would
defend Taiwan is becoming an issue in the presidential campaign?

MR. RUBIN: Wow. Good question; well-formulated, well-researched. The
only thing I can do in a situation like this is to
quote Secretary Albright, which is that she had her partisan instincts
surgically removed when she took the post of Secretary
of State. Since I work for someone who has no partisan instincts left
after being surgically removed, I certainly wouldn't want
to say anything that could even be construed as partisan.


What I can say is that it is the view of this Administration and this
President and this Secretary of State that the issue of
Taiwan is best dealt with through the means that we have been dealing
with it. That is, encouraging dialogue between Taiwan
and China; acting pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act; pursuing a
relationship with China that advances the national security
of the United States through improvements in their practices on
non-proliferation, cooperation with respect to the issue of
North Korea, and other matters that I've repeated endlessly here in the
briefing room. That is our view.

I am confident that the Chinese understand our political process,
having worked with this country through several different
administrations that have changed. I would hope they would understand
the democratic process and act according to that
understanding.

How did I do, by the way, on that? Did I navigate it OK?

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: It seems that Beijing is not only directing their threats
towards Taiwan, but they're directing them towards the
United States. I mean, the statements that are coming out of there are
very strong. Are you all alarmed at those type of
statements?

MR. RUBIN: As I indicated, we believe that the issue of Taiwan must be
resolved peacefully. We would view with grave
concern any attempt to use military force. That is our view. In the
meantime, we will continue to work with China and work
through our unofficial relationship with Taiwan to promote a peaceful
dialogue. That is our position.


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