A Freeze on Taiwan Arms

John Tkacik, Jr. / July 17, 2008

The Bush Administration has in place a freeze on arms sales to Taiwan. That’s correct: an arms freeze on democratic Taiwan. And this freeze comes at a time when Taiwan is in the delicate process of negotiating a re-engagement with undemocratic China to lessen tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

But to engage Beijing, Taiwan’s new president Ma Ying-jeou correctly believes he must negotiate from strength, and that strength must include both a robust security relationship and the vocal enthusiasm of the U.S. government. President Ma has requested the Bush Administration to approve a new tranche of arms transfers, but to his chagrin, the Bush White House has been silent. However, what was silence, now seems to be formal.

Up to now, the Bush Administration has been coy about the “freeze.” Sometimes White House or State Department officials deny the “freeze”, sometimes they say the problem is in the “process”. And on June 25, Assistant Secretary of Defense James Shinn told a congressional hearing that the Taiwan arms freeze “was driven, as far as I understand, by Taiwanese domestic politics.”

They have reason to be coy; a freeze is contrary to the law. Aside from the law – which of course, should be reason enough – it also violates an assurance given President Ronald Reagan that has become part of the U.S.-Taiwan policy canon. The second of his six assurances to then Taiwan President Chiang Ching-kuog was “the US side has not agreed to hold prior consultations with the Chinese Communists on arms sales to the Republic of China.”

In remarks to the Heritage Foundation yesterday, the commander of the United States Pacific Command, Adm. Timothy Keating, confirmed that the freeze is in place. (Watch the full speech.) While he didn’t “want to speak for the State Department or the National Security Council,” Admiral Keating explained that “we want to do nothing to destabilize the [Taiwan] straits.” Wisely not taking any credit for the decision himself, the Admiral added “the folks who make these decisions I believe have reconciled Taiwan’s current military posture, China’s current military posture and strategy. That indicates there is no pressing and compelling need for at this moment arms sales to Taiwan.” (more…)