Washington clarifies Pentagon statements

Washington’s stance regarding cross-strait relations has not changed, an official from the Ministry of Defense said.

The statement referred to Taiwan’s planned U.N. bid as an “independence referendum,” and stressed that President George W. Bush was “against” Taiwan independence.

“This reporter [from the American Forces Press Service] doesn’t know much about cross-strait relations,” said MOFA spokesperson Phoebe Yeh. She added that as of Monday, the Pentagon’s Web site had already been updated and the previous statement deleted.

“After checking with the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. side has clarified that statement was not the official stand of the U.S. and that there is no change in its cross-strait policy,” she added.

Yeh said the MOFA immediately asked its representative office in Washington to seek clarification from the Pentagon, as Taiwan has no plan to hold any referendum on the island’s independence.

She said Taipei will seek to increase communication with other U.S. departments over cross-strait issues to avoid other misunderstandings in the future.

The Pentagon released a statement over a two-day Beijing visit from Sunday by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, during which the defense department said the Gates delegation “expects the Chinese to bring up Taiwan — especially with the independence referendum on the ballot soon.”

Yeh said Taiwan is planning to hold a public vote on whether it should join the United Nations under its Taiwan title rather than on a sensitive “independence referendum.”

On Monday, China and the United States announced they will set up a “military hotline” to avoid misunderstandings during any potential moment of crisis in the Pacific, including the Taiwan Strait. The mechanism has been under discussion since a meeting between Hu and President Bush in 2006.

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