An Artfully Vague Policy

Reagan makes a China deal

During his campaign for the presidency, Ronald Reagan repeatedly protested that in pursuing a policy of rapprochement with Communist China, the U.S. was callously selling out its old ally Taiwan. He vowed that if elected he would reverse that trend and strengthen relations with the island republic. But last week Washington and Peking issued a joint communique that to Taiwan and to U.S. conservatives, at least, read suspiciously like a sellout. In Shanghai II (viewed as the direct historical descendant of the Feb. 27, 1972, Shanghai Communique signed by President Nixon), China affirmed as "fundamental policy" the quest for "peaceful reunification" of Taiwan with China. For its part, the U.S. declared its intention, for the first time ever, to reduce and possibly eventually halt arms sales to Taiwan.

The Reagan Administration sought to soft-pedal Shanghai II as a document of diplomatic necessity rather than menace. "We have paid particular attention to the needs and interests of Taiwan," said Reagan, as his Administration formally announced, only two days after Shanghai II was issued, the sale of 60 F-5E fighters, worth some $240 million, to Taipei. The Taiwan government was not mollified by the sale. It has denounced the agreement as a "contravention of the letter and spirit of the [1979] Taiwan Relations Act" that pledged the U.S. to supply Taiwan with weapons for its defense. And in the U.S., conservatives who regard support for Taiwan as an article of faith were voicing alarm. "It's one more little country we have doublecrossed," lamented Arizona Republican Senator Barry Goldwater. Declared North Carolina Republican Senator Jesse Helms, leader of the New Right: "I can't imagine any foreign policy acts that will disappoint more friends of Ronald Reagan."

Against this assault, the Administration maintained that the agreement, hammered out after ten wearing months of negotiations, was designed to maintain good relations with both Peking and Taipei. Soon after Reagan took office, Administration insiders say, Peking began pressing Washington for a settlement on the thorny issue of continued U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan. When Peking began demanding a firm date for the U.S. to halt selling arms to Taiwan, Washington countered by insisting that the Chinese formally renounce the use of force to achieve reunification with Taiwan, and the talks foundered. But last May, after Chinese Communist Party Vice Chairman Deng Xiaoping completed a sweeping reorganization of China's top leadership, and U.S. Vice President George Bush visited Peking with a calming letter from Reagan, tensions began to ease. After one final blast in the People's

Daily in late July, the negotiating climate warmed. The result: an artfully vague document that allows each nation to make interpretations suggesting it got the best of the new deal.