Op-Ed Contributors

US backs warm cross-Straits ties

By Dennis V. Hickey (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-29 07:55

Editor's note: In contrast with US media's reports of wide concern over the warming relations across the Straits, officials at the highest levels of the US government have stressed repeatedly that the US welcomes cross-Straits rapprochement which serves Amercian interests in myriad of ways.

Measured on almost any scale of political affairs, the amazing rapprochement between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan must rank as one of the most significant events of the early 21st century. As Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan's leader, observed, ties between Beijing and Taipei have reached "a historic juncture". Ma said: "If we can contribute to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, the accomplishments would be historic."

The warming relations between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan appear to have caught some by surprise. And one cannot help but wonder how Americans feel about it. After all, as Deng Xiaoping observed during the 1980s, the US "has been involved all along" in the Taiwan issue.

Does America support cross-Straits rapprochement or oppose it? It appears that opinions on this important issue differ.

A small group of Americans have voiced concern over the warming relations across the Straits. According to media accounts, "unnamed sources" in the Pentagon are worried over present trends and have expressed reservations about the prospects of possible military exchanges between Taiwan and the mainland. An op-ed article in Defense News, an influential US-based military publication, cautioned that American defense planners must now assume that "advanced arms sent to Taiwan could be in China's hands a decade hence".

Besides, a prominent American expert on China has warned that reconciliation might lead to a perilous shift in the "balance of power". American reservations about cross-Straits rapprochement receive a lot of media attention on both sides of the Straits. Such stories help sell newspapers. But these views do not reflect mainstream opinion in the US or official American policy.

The US has long supported increased cross-Straits dialogue and exchanges, and a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue. Therefore, it should come as little surprise that Washington supports the recent moves toward cooperation and reconciliation. Discussing changes in cross-Straits relations during his Senate confirmation hearings, Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, said: "In a world in which there are a lot of real concerns, there occasionally are some signs of hope. And one of the things we've seen over the course of the last several months, last couple of years, is an active diplomacy emerging between (the Chinese mainland) and Taiwan."

Jeffrey Bader, senior director for East Asian affairs in the US National Security Council, concurred with Campbell. He described the improvement in cross-Straits relations as one of the world's "good news stories" and said: "We think Hu (Jintao) and Ma have done an excellent job in reaching out to each other and building a framework that we hope will be durable and that will lead to the resolution of differences." Moreover, Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, emphasized recently in Taipei that "we really and truly are enthusiastic about the kind of (cross-Straits) stability we now see".

Perhaps most significantly, during his "town hall meeting" in Shanghai in November 2009, US President Barack Obama was asked if he was "supportive of improved cross-Straits relations". Obama declared: "I am very pleased with the reduction of tensions and the improvement in cross-Straits relations, and it is my deep desire and hope that we will continue to see great improvement between Taiwan and the rest of and the People's Republic in resolving many of these issues." While the US does not want to interfere in Taiwan's politics, US officials have observed that the inking of a trade pact - the economic cooperation framework agreement between Beijing and Taipei would benefit US commercial interests.

The statements and proclamations cited above reflect the mainstream US position. But such messages do not grab headlines. Rather, attention more often appears to be focused on "unnamed sources" in the Pentagon and analysts housed in obscure think-tanks. This is unfortunate.

In sum, officials at the highest levels of the US government have stressed repeatedly that the US welcomes cross-Straits rapprochement. This is because reconciliation between the two sides of the Straits serves American interests in a myriad of ways. As David B. Shear, deputy assistant secretary of the US Department of State's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, observed recently, "continued progress in cross-Straits relations is critically important to the security and prosperity of the entire region and is therefore a vital national interest of the United States".

The author is the James Morris professor of Political Science at Missouri State University.

(China Daily 04/29/2010 page9)