Washington: China has urged US to reconsider
its decision of recent arms sales to Taiwan, a request which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton politely declined, a senior US official said.
"He (Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi) was making very
serious representations to Clinton, asked Obama Administration
to reconsider this decision and indicated it would harm the
trust and confidence that was established between the two
sides," a senior US administration official said on condition
of anonymity.
Clinton responded very clearly that the US had a strategic
interest in the maintenance and peace and stability across the
Taiwan Strait, the official said.
"The Taiwan Relations Act is quite clear that it provides
for a strong rationale for the provision of defensive
capabilities and weapons to Taiwan as part of a larger context
to preserve that peace and stability," the official said
referring to the talks between the two leaders.
The issue figured prominently when Clinton met Yang in the
New York City on the sidelines of the ongoing 66th session of
the United Nations General Assembly.
"She underscored her view that the strong support of the
US that had provided Taiwan with the confidence to reach out
in diplomacy with Beijing over the course of the last several
years," the official said.
She underscored that the US supports the improvement in
relations, the building of educational, financial,
people-to-people links between the mainland and Taiwan, the
State Department official said.
"We support that, and she indicated that she'd like to see
that series of interactions and trust and confidence across
the Taiwan Straits increase and grow in the time ahead," the
official said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 12:30