The Right Touch on Taiwan Arms

President Bush’s approval of prudently balanced arms sales to Taiwan satisfies the U.S. law requiring that the island be offered weapons adequate for its defense. However, Bush stopped well short of providing the advanced arms that Taiwan had sought and Republican conservatives had urged. The message was made explicit Tuesday by the White House: If Beijing restrains its military buildup opposite Taiwan--a deployment that already includes 300 missiles--future U.S. weapons sales will be moderated. The alternative would be an arms race that could only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait.

There will be time to judge China’s response. The four Kidd-class destroyers slated for Taiwan won’t be ready for delivery for several years. The 20-year-old ships, a lesser version of the state-of-the-art Aegis antimissile destroyers that Taiwan wanted, were decommissioned by the U.S. Navy in the late 1990s. The eight diesel-powered submarines that are also part of the package have yet to be built and couldn’t be ready before the end of the decade. Taiwan’s requests for various bombs, missiles, attack helicopters and tanks were denied. It will get P-3 Orion reconnaissance aircraft, submarine-launched missiles and antiaircraft weapons. The military balance will stay strongly in China’s favor, in the air, at sea and in land forces.

Bush was right not to let anger over China’s interference with a U.S. reconnaissance plane and internment of its crew earlier this month influence the arms decision. American interests--and policy--have been consistent for nearly three decades. Until Chinese on both sides of the strait agree on Taiwan’s future political relationship with the mainland, every effort to control tensions should be made. That includes an arms sales policy aimed at dissuading Beijing from a foolish turn toward force. China, as expected, protested this year’s arms sales. But its policymakers can’t have failed to note the White House’s signal that it remains interested in a productive bilateral relationship.