[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   EXPRESSING CONCERN WITH STATED POLICY TOWARDS TAIWAN AND APPARENT 
                  MILITARY BUILDUP BY MAINLAND CHINESE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM GRAVES

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 5, 2002

  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern with our 
stated policy towards Taiwan and the apparent military buildup by the 
mainland Chinese.
  Mr. Speaker, according to a recent report to Congress issued by the 
Department of Defense, China's military ``offensive 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 my concern 
over the long standing ambiguity of United States policy towards 
Taiwan. The policy of ``strategic ambiguity'' has served the interests 
of the United States in years past, but recent developments constitute 
a review in current United States policy.
  According to the report, in March of this year, China announced a 
17.6 percent increase in military spending. This is a significant 
increase when it is not facing significant threats from abroad. The 
report also states, ``Beijing is pursuing the ability to force Taiwan 
to negotiate on Beijing's terms regarding unification with the mainland 
. . . 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 ``one-China,'' 
it does not address what the United States' policy should be if Taiwan 
were attacked by China.
  Because of our current policy of ``strategic ambiguity'' that dates 
back to the 1970's and the unanswered questions it generates, I am 
urging President Bush to conduct a comprehensive review of U.S. policy 
toward Taiwan.
  With the apparent aggressive military buildup by the Chinese, the 
warnings reported by our own Defense Department, and our policy of 
``strategic 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.

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