China’s in a snit

Opinion: February 13, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Kansas City Star: China has gone into one of its periodic snits over Washington’s support for the democratic, self-governing island of Taiwan.

At issue is a U.S. decision to sell Taiwan $6.4 billion in helicopters, anti-missile systems and other weapons, a deal that was actually set in motion by the Bush administration.

China views Taiwan as a breakaway province, but President Obama was right to give the go-ahead. Doing otherwise would have spread doubts in Asia about the future of America’s commitment to security in that region. And it would tempt China into even more aggressive moves against Taiwan, which has been supported for decades by administrations of both parties.

Defensive arms

By statute, Washington is obligated to supply Taiwan with defensive arms.

China’s response has been to suspend military ties with the U.S., which were on the mend after a 2008 suspension prompted by a separate weapons package.

What’s different this time is Beijing’s heightened stridency. China is making ominous noises over Obama’s plans to meet with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader denounced as a separatist by the Chinese leadership. Beijing also threatens to slap sanctions on the companies that supply the weapons to Taiwan, a move it has not made openly in the past.

This is unfortunate, because the Obama administration’s first moves toward China were conciliatory. Washington signaled that it would not press China on human rights. Before his recent Beijing trip, Obama put off a meeting with the Dalai Lama. While there he soft-pedaled the human-rights question.