Taipei, July 20 (CNA) It is important for the United States to support Taiwan's efforts to pursue free trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries, but it is "more than ironic" that the U.S. has made clear it does not intend to sign a FTA with Taiwan, the chief executive of a U.S. think tank said Tuesday.
"It's more than ironic that we wouldn't do it ourselves," Randall Schriver, chief executive officer and president of the Project 2049 Institute, a non-profit research organization dedicated to the study of security trends in Asia, said at a press round-table in Taipei.
Schriver, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs during the George W. Bush administration, was in Taiwan to attend a two-day international conference organized by the Taiwan Brain Trust on the influence of a rising Chinese hegemony and challenges to the region.
He said he has been a long-time supporter of trade liberalization, which is why he also supported the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) that China and Taiwan signed June 29, as well as a possible Taiwan-U.S. FTA.
However, the U.S. government has publicly stated that it does not intend to negotiate an FTA with Taiwan, because it believes Taiwan is not ready for a fully open market. Instead, the U.S. hopes to strengthen bilateral trade ties through the trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) process.
On the current U.S. administration's Taiwan policy, Schriver said he did not think President Barack Obama will "abandon the Taiwan Relations Act" as some people have suggested, or make any dramatic policy shifts, but he would like to see high-level official visits, a resumption of trade talks and forward movement in the arms sales program.
He also urged the U.S. to pay more attention to Asia. Despite talking about a "Pacific century, " he said, the U.S. has not engaged in the region enough to cope with the growing strength of China and the relative decline of U.S. influence in the region.
Asked about the possibility of China's removal of missiles targeting Taiwan, Schriver said Taiwan should still be careful even if China removes them, because the missiles could be easily redeployed very quickly.
More importantly, China has never renounced the use of force to resolve the Taiwan issue, he went on, adding that if the missiles are removed, it should be accompanied by a statement from China about its policy on the use of force.
In terms of the future, Schriver said some senior Chinese officials and researchers he has spoken with have expressed concern over a possible return to power of the pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2012.
Citing the example of U.S. policy on China and Taiwan, which over the years has been bi-partisan, Schriver said he hopes China "understands that in a two-party democracy, there will be a trade of power from time to time and they need to work with both sides."
On the issue of Taiwan's desire to purchase diesel electric submarines from the U.S., Schriver said the U.S. made the commitment in 2001 to help Taiwan acquire the submarines. However, the U.S. does not manufacture the submarines anymore, so it then proposed a indigenous production program with assistance from the U.S. and defense companies in other countries.
Given the obstacles to the submarine sales over the last decade, he said, a domestic program is the most likely way for the submarine project to proceed. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J