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Congress
of the United States
House
of Representatives
Washington,
DC 20515-2506
July 29, 2002
The
Honorable George W. Bush
Office
of the President
The
White House
1600
Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington,
D.C. 20500
Dear
Mr. President:
I would like to express my concern with our stated
policy towards Taiwan and the apparent military buildup by
the Mainland Chinese.
According to a recent report to Congress issued by
the Department of Defense, China=s
military Aoffensive
capabilities improve as each year passes, providing Beijing
with an increasing number of credible options to intimidate
or actually attack Taiwan.@
This warning by the Department of Defense only adds
to our concern over the long-standing ambiguity of U.S. policy
towards Taiwan. The policy of Astrategic
ambiguity@
has served the interests of the United States in years past,
but recent developments constitute a review in current U.S.
policy.
According to the report, in March of this year, China
announced a 17.5 percent increase in military spending. This
is a significant increase when it is not facing significant
threats from abroad. The report also states, ABeijing
is pursuing the ability to force Taiwan to negotiate on ABeijing=s
terms regarding unification with the mainlandY
It also seeks to deter, deny, or complicate the ability of
foreign forces to intervene on Taiwan=s
behalf.@
This report is very troubling. However, even more troubling
is that while our stated policy indicates an acknowledgment
of Aone-China,@
it does not address what the United States=
policy should be if Taiwan were attacked by China. I believe
that further clarification of the U.S. position should be
outlined in a revised policy based on the results of a policy
review.
With the apparent aggressive military buildup by the
Chinese, the warnings reported by our own Defense Department,
and our policy of Astrategic
ambiguity@
towards the China-Taiwan relationship, it is time to review
our policy toward Taiwan to unambiguously account for the
possibility of a military conflict between Mainland China
and Taiwan and the United States response to such an action.
Sincerely,
Sam
Graves
Member
of Congress
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