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US report raises
questions over cross-strait ties
MARITIME DISPUTES: The new report suggests that
US Congress should examine cooperation between Beijing and Taipei in the East
China Sea
By William Lowther / Staff reporter in Washington
A handout photograph taken on
Thursday and released by the Japan Coast Guard shows a coast guard vessel,
right, spraying water at a Taiwanese boat, bottom left, after the latter
ventured near the disputed Diaoyutais, in the East China Sea.
Photo: AFP
A new report from the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) raises a potentially difficult question for Taipei about
its current relationship with Beijing.
¡§One issue for US policy concerns trends across the Taiwan Strait since 2008,¡¨
says the report, made public on Monday.
The report asks whether Taiwan¡¦s moves to grow closer to the People¡¦s Republic
of China (PRC) have ¡§created a greater willingness¡¨ in Taipei to cooperate with
Beijing on issues ¡§in which it sees their interests as aligned.¡¨
In particular, the new report ¡X entitled Maritime Territorial Disputes in East
Asia ¡X suggests that the US Congress should examine Taiwan-China cooperation in
the East China Sea.
¡§Some analysts argue that there is an issue for US policymakers surrounding
whether Taiwan coordinated with the PRC in asserting sovereignty of the Senkaku
Islands [Diaoyutai Islands (³¨³½¥x)] against Japan amid rising tension in September
2012,¡¨ the report says.
Written by specialist in Asian security affairs Shirley Kan and specialists in
Asian affairs Ben Dolven and Mark Manyin, the report is likely to get special
attention from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee
on Foreign Relations.
The report says China has urged cooperation over the islands to advance
cross-strait ties, but, to date, Taipei officials have denied cooperating with
Beijing.
¡§Even without explicit coordination, the parallel actions of the PRC and Taiwan
in the current East China Sea flareup have added pressure against Japan,¡¨ the
report says.
It says that both China and Taiwan have deployed government patrol ships and
military assets that have ¡§raised concerns about the potential for accidental
collisions and the escalation of tensions.¡¨
On Sept. 25 last year, Taiwan deployed 12 coast guard ships that escorted 60
fishing boats and fired water cannons at Japan¡¦s patrol ships.
¡§Furthermore, Taiwan dispatched military systems sold by the United States
during the incident,¡¨ the report says.
The US Congress will face many questions arising from maritime territorial
disputes in East Asia, the report adds.
The sovereignty disputes themselves are so difficult and raise such wide-ranging
issues for US policy that managing them will touch on congressional oversight of
US President Barack Obama¡¦s diplomatic actions in Asia, it says.
The report says that Congress will have to consider the Obama administration¡¦s
military posture and budgets, and ¡§its search for ways to limit the potential
for conflict and create a more stable environment in the region.¡¨
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