20110303 Time to start defrosting US-Taiwan relations

Time to start defrosting US-Taiwan relations

By Walter Lohman

The US-Taiwan relationship today is all but frozen, increasing the level of anxiety in Taiwan as it tries to cope with a rising China. One hears this anxiety in conversations with officials in Taipei and in the flurry of public exhortations recently offered by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) concerning Taiwan’s defense needs.

Taiwan’s outreach to China is predicated on strong US-Taiwan ties. Ma has delivered on the outreach; it is the US that is failing to do its part. And that makes Taiwanese nervous.

The US has given Ma a bit more space than was afforded his predecessor. He has been permitted stopovers in the US, where he has received selected members of Congress and made calls to others from his hotel. The US administration has held regular working-level consultations with the Taiwanese on their key concerns and interests, including the state of US-China relations.

In fairness, it must also be acknowledged that it was only a year ago that the US administration followed through on the second half of the long-delayed US$13 billion arms sales package from 2001. It took former US president George W. Bush’s administration seven years to make good on the first half of that sale. Of course, the key variable in this turn of events was the change of administrations in Taiwan that bridged both sales. Nevertheless, movement on the arms sales package last year is a clear illustration that US President Barack Obama’s administration does harbor friends of Taiwan — friends who are capable of winning an occasional interagency battle.

This makes it all the more perplexing that they cannot seem to move forward on the many other priorities at stake in the relationship.

The most important thing the Obama administration can do for US-Taiwan relations is provide Taiwan the price and availability data for 66 F-16C/Ds that it first sought in July 2006. By every account — including that of the administration’s own Defense Intelligence Agency — Taiwan desperately needs new fighter aircraft. More than that, it needs real commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

The TRA requires the US to “make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.” Today, Taiwan does not possess that capability, and it has only the US to help it. Talk is cheap. Taiwan — and by extension the US position in the Western Pacific — requires action.

Unfortunately, the anticipated vociferous Chinese reaction to the F-16C/D sale has greatly complicated the Obama administration’s decision-making process. There is no other conceivable reason why it cannot be concluded. Setting aside the highest priority merited by the F-16 decision (and the inconvenient TRA requirement that such decisions be made without regard to China’s interests), it may be constructive to focus on some easier things the administration can do to defrost the US-Taiwan relationship:

Trade talks — The administration could resume the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement talks that have been on ice for more than three years, largely over Taiwan’s action against US beef imports. It is understandable that the US is miffed, but isn’t that what trade talks are for, to discuss areas of disagreement and resolve disputes? US exporters face far greater difficulties accessing China’s markets, and yet the US holds annual Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade talks with China.

Extradition treaty — Taiwan has identified an extradition treaty as a top priority, and we have been talking about it now for more than two years.

Cutting diplomatic red tape — There are delays in minor routine congressional notifications on arms sales. There is the matter of lining up a US Cabinet-level visit — although it is completely in keeping with the US’ bipartisan China policy, the US has gone without it for more than a decade. There are also the many accumulated minor prohibitions on Taiwan that State Department lawyers have dreamt up over the years, like the ban on US flag and general officer visits to Taipei, the ban on Taiwan’s ministers of defense and foreign affairs visiting Washington and the prohibition on Taiwanese officials visiting the US State Department for consultations.

Visa waiver program — The biggest no-brainer has to be admission of Taiwan into the US’ Visa Waiver Program. The US allows nationals from 36 countries to visit the US visa-free for a period of 90 days. Most of our friends in Europe are in the program, as are several of our most important allies and friends in Asia. Among the specific criteria that must be met for inclusion in the program is a visa refusal rate of less than 3 percent. Taiwan’s rate is now at 2.2 percent. Passport security and identity verification requirements have resulted in Taiwan instituting in-person application procedures for passports. A pilot program that began on Tuesday will begin to bring it into compliance on that score.

Remaining requirements involving the exchange of passenger information and stolen or lost passports, law enforcement cooperation and other security certifications will be accepted eagerly by Taiwan. At that point, it will be fully eligible for visa-free travel.

The American Institute in Taiwan says this is all purely a legal matter, not a political decision.

Perhaps it is in substance. Issues — especially involving Taiwan — have a way of languishing in Washington without a political decision to get them done. So while the administration should not skimp on the requirements for Taiwan, it should actively spur the process to completion. It should also take note that nearly 100 countries, including Canada and the EU countries, have found Taiwan perfectly appropriate for their own visa-waiver programs.

Friends of Taiwan are grasping at straws to get movement in the US-Taiwan relationship. Arms sales are the most critical need. It is also necessary to integrate Taiwan into the emerging regional economic order. However, virtually anything that could defrost the relationship would be useful, even if it means following the EU’s lead on visa waiver.

After all, if the Obama administration cannot muster the courage to do something as innocuous as allowing Taiwanese to visit the US visa-free, honoring the word of the TRA by selling Taiwan the F-16s it needs looks all but impossible.

Walter Lohman is director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation. The article was first published on the foundation’s Web site.