New Developments in Arms Sale

choi

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New developments.

(1) Friday (Jan. 29, 2010), US disclosed that it had "notified" China--merely a few hours before public announcement--of the $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan. US emphasized there had been no "consultation"with China.  

(a) US to consult with China on Taiwan arms. AFP, Jan. 29, 2010.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100129/pl_afp/uschinataiwanmilitarydiplomacy_20100129181944

My comment:
(i) This report suggests that National Security Adviser James Jones that day seemed to indicate US will consult China in future sales. I will note that this is the only report that says so.
(ii) Please take notice a statement in this report: "Congressional aides say the administration is consulting on a new package of weapons for Taiwan."
(iii) I was unaware of the AFP report, until just now.

(b) Zep Hu and Deborah Kuo, Representative clarifies U.S. stance on arms sales to Taiwan. Central News Agency, Jan. 31, 2010.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1169472&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_taiwan&cate_rss=TAIWAN_eng
("Taiwan's top representative in the United States on Saturday said Washington has reassured him that its policy on selling arms to Taiwan remains unchanged and that it will not 'consult' Beijing on any such sale.")

Note: Jason Yuan 袁健生

(2) It is not surprising that that Wall Street Journal comes out to swing on behalf of Taiwan. See

Opinion: Standing Up for Taiwan; U.S. arms sales help cross-Strait relations. Wall Street Journal Asia, Feb. 1, 2010.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704491604575036193143584562.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopBucket
("[A] study of Taiwan's air force capabilities is underway to help Washington determine how best to upgrade them. A logical way to do so would be to sell Taiwan the F-16s it has been requesting for years, adding to the 150 F-16s the U.S. sold Taiwan in 1992.")

(3) But the following analysis foreboding the future trend, as well as the clarification above, indicates the war of words is escalating between US and China--likely in many fronts, such as Tibet, renminbi appreciation, and trade deficit.  

Helene Cooper, U.S. Starts to Push Back Against China in Growing Rift. New York Times, Feb. 1, 2010 (available now).
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/world/asia/01china.html

And FURTHER 40% appreciation of renminbi might be the current US goal. See
Helene Cooper, Obama Sets Ambitious Export Goal. New York Times, Jan. 29, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/business/29trade.html?scp=5&sq=obama%20forty%20china&st=cse
("The trouble, trade experts say, is that meeting that goal would require the president to engage in a fight to the death with the liberal wing of his own party, persuade China to allow its currency to appreciate 40 percent, get global economic growth to outperform the salad days from 2003 to 2007, and lower taxes for American companies that do business abroad.")

Note: salad days

"A time of youth and inexperience; often, a better and more innocent time. The expression comes from William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, where Cleopatra says her early infatuation with Julius Caesar was foolish: 'My salad days, when I was green in judgment.' ('Green' refers both to inexperience and to the color of a salad.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (3rd ed.).  Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.

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