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Only Ma would refuse help for defense
By Steve Wang ¤ý«ä¬°
Sunday, May 09, 2010, Page 8
¡¥No European nation would go to the extent of demanding that the US pull out of
joint defense structures.¡¦
After the end of World War II, countries around the world set about building
collective security structures for joint defense, and this was the main purpose
of the establishment of the UN.
Military alliances, defense partnerships and other platforms for cooperation
between nations were very important during the Cold War to prevent and resist
aggression from third countries. They cannot be neglected in the post-Cold War
period, either.
An indication of the continued need for such alliances is a statement by US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Informal Meeting of NATO foreign
ministers in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on April 23, emphasizing that the US
had no intention of withdrawing tactical nuclear weapons deployed at its Air
Force bases in Europe. European opinions about the US¡¦ global strategic
deployment may vary considerably, but, in consideration of collective security,
no European nation would go to the extent of demanding that the US pull out of
joint defense structures.
The Asia-Pacific region has no fewer potential flashpoints of instability than
Europe and the threats to its security are no less complex. Even though nobody
knows how regional balances of power in Northeast and Southeast Asia will be
maintained in the future, or for how long, the only leader in the world who
would say that he flat-out refuses US defense assistance is President Ma Ying-jeou
(°¨^¤E) ¡X and he made his point using a very decisive word: ¡§Never.¡¨
It must be borne in mind that Taiwan is not a member of the UN, so it is not
qualified to join any international joint defense agreements. As things stand,
it can only attach itself to the periphery of existing collective security
mechanisms. That means that the only guarantee of Taiwan¡¦s security is its
unspoken military agreement with the US. Besides, at present the only country
that poses a direct threat to Taiwan¡¦s security is China.
That means that there can only be one explanation for Ma¡¦s outright refusal of
US military assistance: He has decided to bind Taiwan and China together in an
unbreakably close relationship and to use his term in office to speed up the
process of eventual unification.
In other words, when Ma said during an interview with CNN that he would never
ask the US to fight for Taiwan, his true face was revealed for all to see. Ma¡¦s
interpretation of Taiwan¡¦s status is clear.
While he is president, his strategy is not just to actively lean in China¡¦s
direction, but to bring forward the day when Taiwan will be a part of China. In
Ma¡¦s mind, what belongs to China belongs to China, and the US can mind its own
business.
Although Ma has said time and again that he will never sell out Taiwan, his use
of the word ¡§never¡¨ in the CNN interview really gave the game away. No longer
can one merely suspect that Taiwan¡¦s sovereignty is in peril ¡X it has now been
proven beyond doubt that Ma is hell-bent on selling Taiwan down the river.
Steve Wang is an advisory committee member of Taiwan Thinktank.
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