The shopping list submitted by Taiwan is its largest, and the administration is likely to approve a surprising amount of it, a senior U.S. defense official indicated yesterday. The administration, alarmed by a buildup of missiles in southeastern China, already was moving toward approval of a substantial sale. Anger at China may be the clincher, although U.S. officials say the main purpose is to preserve the military balance between China and Taiwan, not to retaliate for the Hainan incident. Other decisions may also be seen, rightly or wrongly, in light of the standoff and be interpreted as indications of either weakness or retaliation by the Bush administration. The administration could also find itself in the middle of a GOP feud, pitting Republicans who see China as a major strategic threat against Republicans who favor a healthy business climate and believe trade will bring political change to China.
China is a billion and a half people. . . .
We have to accord China the importance it warrants. Some conservatives outside the administration were worried yesterday that the State Department might have made some undisclosed, private assurances to China to obtain the crew's release. What worries me is that we may have struck some sotto voce agreement not to do anything on all the broader issues of the relationship which will make the Chinese unhappy. Senior administration officials vigorously denied that was the case. Indeed, shortly before China released the American aircrew, the United States introduced a resolution at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights criticizing Beijing for political and religious persecution and urging the release of political prisoners.