The Bush Administration has in place a freeze on arms sales to Taiwan. That’s correct: an arms freeze on democratic Taiwan. And this freeze comes at a time when Taiwan is in the delicate process of negotiating a re-engagement with undemocratic China to lessen tensions in the Taiwan Strait. But to engage Beijing, Taiwan’s new president Ma Ying-jeou correctly believes he must negotiate from strength, and that strength must include both a robust security relationship and the vocal enthusiasm of the U.S. government. President Ma has requested the Bush Administration to approve a new tranche of arms transfers, but to his chagrin, the Bush White House has been silent. However, what was silence, now seems to be formal. Up to now, the Bush Administration has been coy about the “freeze.” Sometimes White House or State Department...
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