China hits back at US over arms sale to Taiwan
THE American relationship with Taiwan is one of the most delicate diplomatic issues between Beijing and Washington. Each US administration had to deal with the issue and China-US relations had gone through a seesaw game in the past dealing with China-Taiwan relations. On 29th January, the Obama administration announced a decision to sell Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, minesweepers and communications equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet of fighter jets, fueling strains in relations with the world's third largest economy. China has lashed out with a raft of reprisals after the United States announced a $US6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan, escalating the biggest Sino-US crisis yet under President Barack Obama. Berating the one-year-old Obama administration for "crude interference" in its affairs, China says it is suspending military and security contacts with the United States and imposing sanctions on US firms involved in the Taiwan deal. The furious riposte came a day after the Pentagon approved the sale of arms. Chinese defence ministry spokesman Huang Xueping says the reprisals reflect the "severe harm" posed by the deal with Taiwan, which Beijing says is a part of its territory and must return to the mainland fold. China refuses to rule out the use of force to reacquire Taiwan and has hundreds of missiles deployed against the self-governing island of 23 million people, which split from the mainland in 1949. In Washington, officials say the White House is committed to Taiwan's defence and denied that it is picking a fight. But Chinese vice foreign minister He Yafei made an urgent official protest to the US Ambassador in Beijing, Jon Huntsman, Chinese officials said. In a statement delivered to Huntsman, he urged Washington to cancel the deal, which he said constituted "crude interference in China's internal affairs that seriously endangers China's national security and damages China's peaceful reunification". The United States insisted on 30th January that its decision to sell arms to Taiwan is right despite severe criticism from China. The planned arms sales would contribute to "maintaining security and stability across the Taiwan Strait," US State Department spokeswoman Laura Tischler told journalists. China is believed to have more than 1,000 missiles aimed at the island. Taiwan's relations with the mainland have improved since President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008. But Beijing's reaction to the long-expected sale suggests it may have hoped the thaw would reduce US military cooperation. China's Taiwan affairs office said the deal "fanned the flames of Taiwan independence" and sent the wrong message, according to the Xinhua state news agency. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, who has overseen a marked warming in trade and political relations with China, says Beijing has nothing to fear from the arms sale. "It will let Taiwan feel more confident and secure so we can have more interactions with China," Ma said, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. China's response underscored a rapid degeneration in relations with the US following recent strains over trade, climate change and Google's threat to quit China. Observers say China could yet go further by rejecting new UN sanctions on Iran. Hours before the announcement on Taiwan, the United States urged Beijing to help curb Iran's nuclear program. "Cooperation between China and the US on key international and regional issues will also inevitably be affected," Huang said. It is likely to hinder the prospect of new sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council. Despite China's reluctance to act against its ally, the US was hopeful that it could win its backing if Russia was on board. Beijing will postpone high-level consultation on strategic security, arms control and non-proliferation issues, it said. The Defence Ministry said it was suspending military exchanges because of the "harm and odious effect" of the deal. The dispute comes amid growing tensions over issues including trade, climate change and Internet censorship. "This is the strongest reaction we have seen in recent years," said Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, North East Asia project director of the International Crisis Group. But she added: "Our real sense is that China is looking to see what reaction it will receive from Barack Obama." Washington and Beijing had boasted of a strengthening of bilateral ties, but in recent weeks the relationship has come under growing strain. China is thought to be concerned that Obama faces growing domestic pressure to take a tougher line towards Beijing, and was angered by Hillary Clinton's speech on Internet freedom last week. Although China warned that the speech could damage bilateral relations, both sides subsequently sought to play down the disagreement. Obama's national security adviser, Jim Jones, said in a speech on Friday that the US was "bent toward a new relationship with China as a rising power in the world". But Jin Canrong, a professor of international studies at Renmin University, said the arms sale would give Beijing a "fair and proper reason" to accelerate weapons testing. Huang says the US package "runs counter" to commitments on cooperation outlined by the two governments when Obama visited China in November. The last US arms package for Taiwan, announced under Obama's predecessor George W Bush in October 2008, also led China to cut off military relations with the US temporarily. But this time the sanctions were more biting and analysts say they reflect China's increased clout at a time when its economy looks set to overhaul Japan's and its military budget is surging year by year. China has become more assertive in world affairs and the US cannot expect that after arms sale to Taiwan, it is business as usual with China as was in the past. The author is former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
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