THE PRESS THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 1982. U.S. weapons for Taiwan

Press, 21 January 1982, Page 12

THE PRESS THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 1982. U.S. weapons for Taiwan

The conflict of views between China and the United States over the supply of arms to Taiwan will not be resolved easily. The United States is not, however, winning friends in Taiwan as a minor consolation prize for its efforts to smooth the trouble. The incident that has renewed the debate is the renewal of an arrangement by which Taiwan would be permitted to continue manufacturing the Northrop FSE fighter aircraft. The arrangement was due to expire in 1983. Taiwan is displeased because it had sought permission to buy more advanced planes. The FSG was most frequently mentioned, but other planes — the Fl 6, the FX, and the Fl6/79 - were reported to be under consideration as well.

The effect of the American decision is that Taiwan has been denied all advanced American fighter planes. The question of some sophisticated equipment in the aircraft has been left open. Taiwan is reported no longer to want more FSE aircraft. The United States seems to have made up its mind on the ground that Taiwan does not need the more advanced aircraft to defend itself. Doubtless, the Taiwanese consider that they should be the ones that decide that. The United States may have been influenced by the fact that it knows the aircraft and the performance of the aircraft that China holds and has made its assessment of Taiwan’s needs accordingly. There appears to be no suggestion that Taiwan needs aircraft to defend itself from any country other than China.

The military significance of the agreement is probably of less importance than the political significance. From Taiwan’s point of view the willingness of the United States to sell the weapons to Taiwan was an earnest of American commitment to the defence of Taiwan. From the point of view of the United States, it has, among other things, to fulfil the requirements of the Taiwan Relations

Act, which was designed by Congress to protect the interests of Taiwan and to provide for the island’s defence needs. From the point of view of China, the United States is seen to be arming a province of China, also recognised by the United States as a province of China, with weapons whose only likely use would be against the armed forces of China. China has long disapproved of the Taiwan Relations Act. China must also view the decision in the context of comments made during the Presidential election campaign in 1980 about President Reagan’s attitude to the defence of Taiwan.

The argument about whether Taiwan would get American weapons was bedevilled in the latter part of 1981 by several factors. One was that a number of members of the United States Congress considered that China was being accorded too great a say in American foreign policy. Another was the incident of Professor Chen Wen-cheng, who was born in Taiwan but lived in the United States. He died in Taipei in July, a few hours after he had been interrogated by the Taiwan Garrison Command. His death raised the whole question of Taiwan’s surveillance of Taiwanese living in other countries. A rift was also reported to have developed between President Reagan and the State Department, which was held to be opposed to the sale of arms to Taiwan.

In the end, a compromise seems to have been reached and it pleases nobody. China depends heavily on American technology in its efforts to develop. The United States wants to be able to continue to play China off against the Soviet Union. These considerations may mean that the United States and China may not drift too far apart. Nevertheless, Taiwan remains one of Peking’s touchiest points and one on which Peking has shown no willingness to compromise when the attitudes of other countries are being considered. Such difference will not disappear readily.