Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

U.S. Offers Weapons to Taiwan, China Seethes

Aired April 25, 2001 - 10:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to a clouding diplomatic triangle, one involving the United States, Taiwan and China. Just a day after the Bush administration offered a massive arms package to Taiwan, Beijing summoned the U.S. ambassador to formally protest the weapons offer. And a strong stance by President Bush is generating concern on all sides.

CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace joins us now. And she's got more on all this -- morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon. Well, ambiguity -- that's really been a staple of U.S. policy concerning Taiwan for at least the past 20 years. The U.S. never explicitly stating if it would defend Taiwan if Taiwan were attacked by the Chinese.

Well, President Bush seems to be taking some of that ambiguity away, Mr. Bush working in the Oval Office this morning, taping an interview yesterday with ABC in which he explicitly said that the U.S. would in fact defend Taiwan.

In that interview conducted by ABC's Charlie Gibson, Gibson asked: "I'm curious if you in your own mind feel that if Taiwan were attacked by China, do we have an obligation to defend the Taiwanese?" President Bush said: "Yes, we do."

"And you would?" Gibson asked. "And the Chinese must understand that. Yes I would," said the president.

"With the full force of the American military?" Mr. Bush replied: "Whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself."

Now, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer tells CNN that Mr. Bush was repeating comments he made during the presidential campaign when he said that, yes, in fact the U.S. would defend Taiwan and when he took issue with how then-President Clinton was handling Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I think the president had made a mistake of calling a China a strategic partner. I think he sent bad signals to China that says, "Well, if you decide to move aggressively against Taiwan, we won't act necessarily." I think the next president needs to -- needs to understand that China, while we can find some areas of agreement such as opening their markets, that they need to be viewed as competitor and a strategic competitor.

And we need to be tough and firm. And we need to be very resolute about our position when it comes to Taiwan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Now, under the Taiwan Relations Act, passed in 1979 and pretty much guiding U.S. policy toward Taiwan, that act does not guarantee that the U.S. would defend Taiwan. It does say that any threat against Taiwan would be viewed by the U.S. as a serious concern. The law also requires the United States to provide weapons to Taiwan to defend itself against an attack from China.

Now, one former U.S. ambassador to China was somewhat startled by the president's remarks because he believes that the ambiguous policy that the U.S. has carried on for more than two decades has worked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SASSER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: Upon reflection, he may want to rethink this whole statement. I simply say that the policy of ambivalence that we have followed now for almost a quarter of a century has led to peace across the Taiwan Straits. And we need to think very, very carefully before we change that policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Now, it is not clear what prompted these remarks by the president, whether he was trying to send a message to China or if he was just responding to a reporter's question. Still, one senior U.S. official not disagreeing with the assessment that this is the strongest and most specific language ever used by a U.S. president concerning the defense of Taiwan.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, reporting live from the White House.

HARRIS: All right, thank you, Kelly.

Well, coming up next hour, CNN will delve deeper into Mr. Bush's statements when he sits down with us for a one-on-one interview live. Tune in for that right here, 11:30 Eastern, 8:30 Pacific. CNN's senior White House correspondent John King will sit down and talk with the president. And as we said, we'll carry that live. We'll replay the interview in its entirety later at 5:00 Eastern today. And if you miss it either time, it will air again tonight at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific. And we will also replay it on our web site at CNN.com.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for decades, the United States has carefully relied on ambiguities to define its loyalties and interests in the ongoing tensions between Taiwan and China. In other words, there was much more focus on what was not said rather than what was. That all changed in the course of a few sentences by President Bush. CNN senior Asia correspondent Mike Chinoy takes a look at what was said and what was heard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever since Richard Nixon went to China, the United States has used calculated ambiguity to manage the Taiwan question, seven administrations, Republican and Democratic, all supporting the principle of one China and opposing Taiwan independence, but insisting that Beijing resolve the issue peacefully, giving Taiwan enough weapons to defend itself, while remaining deliberately vague about the what the us would do if a conflict erupted.

Now, President Bush has brought the ambiguity to an end, declaring that the U.S., quote, "would do whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan, even if it involved the use of American military might. It's a significant shift in the formulation of American policy.

HOLMES LIAO, TAIWAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE: The American administration has finally come to realize that strategic ambiguity really hasn't done much to deter Chinese military aggression and its military buildup in its confrontational approach to both Taiwan and to the United States.

CHINOY: The president's tough words came on the heels of a U.S. decision to provide a generous package of weapons to Taiwan's armed forces, both moves touching the rawest nerve in China, where reclaiming Taiwan is the most emotional political issue and the driving force behind the Chinese army's modernization effort.

Ironically, though, even as the political tension grows, Taiwan is becoming more and more linked economically with mainland China.

TIM TING, GALLUP TAIWAN: Our economy relies on China's market more than ever before. And if Taiwan intends to grow continuously, then we have to have very peaceful and mutually beneficial relationships with China.

CHINOY: In a statement welcoming the U.S. arms sale, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian referred to this hope, repeating a call for dialogue with Beijing. Chen said nothing about Mr. Bush's comments.

Indeed, Taiwan has flourished in recent years in part because Washington and Beijing have been able largely to put the Taiwan issue on the back burner. That may no longer be possible.

(on camera): For more than two decades, the United States has used a prescription of deterrence without provocation to bolster Taiwan while maintaining relations with mainland China. President Bush's blunt declaration that the U.S. would do whatever it takes to help Taiwan defend itself, analysts say, calls that entire formula into question.

Mike Chinoy, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com