China vs the US and Japan over Taiwan
Washington (AsiaNews/Agencies) In a joint statement issued yesterday by the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee, the two countries listed 12 joint objectives as their shared security concerns, among them "the peaceful resolution of issues concerning the Taiwan Strait through dialogue" and encouraging "China to improve transparency of its military affairs".
Beijing's reaction was voiced by Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan, who said that the "Chinese government and people sternly object to the inclusion of the Taiwan issuea subject about China's national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national securityin the statement."
This is the first time in 50 years that the US-Japan alliance takes a common stand on the Taiwan issue.
For some political analysts, the joint statement was made to come ahead of the National People's Congress plenum on March 5, which is expected to examine a controversial anti-secession law affecting Taiwan.
Beijing's activism is not limited to domestic initiatives; it also includes undermining Taiwan's international standing. This is best seen in its recent diplomatic offensive in the Caribbean where it is offering economic incentives to regional nations to break off diplomatic relations with Taipei.
This is nothing new. For years, China and Taiwan have used dollar diplomacy to woo poor Caribbean nations, providing funds for projects such as road building, bridges, wells and fisheries. But Beijing's growing economic clout is tipping the scales in the region. Caribbean trade with China reached US$ 2 billion last year, a 42.5 per cent increase from 2003, China's official news agency Xinhua reported.
Recently, China's policy has been paying off. Dominica and Grenada switched allegiances to Beijing, abandoning Taipei. In Dominica's this turnaround took two weeks. When Taiwan gave it US million, Beijing promised Dominica US2 million over the next six years.
Now only five Caribbean island nations still maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan; they are the Dominican Republic, Haiti, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.
Still, cross-straits tensions are easing on both sides. Although the period of direct flights for the Lunar New Year is coming to an end today, Taiwan has proposed unlimited, direct cargo flights between the two countries. Negotiations have not yet started, but the Chinese government seems interested.
In fact, Beijing is calling for negotiations on an agreement that would guarantee direct passenger flights year-round. In its opinion, "the shared will of the citizens of the Strait is being thwarted by Taiwan's politicians who fear direct flights with China. They are afraid that direct flights might undermine their declaration of independence".
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