Candid Conversation: Preventive Defense Project Co-director Ashton B. Carter and Ambassador Wang Vingfan, former vice minister of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former PRC ambassador to the UN, discuss regional security challenges at Track II mee
Deborah Gordon

"Preventive Defense Project Encourages Taipei-Beijing Dialogue"

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Winter 2008-09

Author: Jennifer C. Bulkeley, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008-2009; Former Research Assistant, Preventive Defense Project, 2007-2009

Belfer Center Programs or Projects: International Security; Preventive Defense Project

Over the past decade, the Belfer Center’s Preventive Defense Project (PDP) has organized a series of “Track II” dialogues between Taiwan, mainland China, and the United States – dialogues that have contributed substantially to diffusing tensions between leaders in the U.S. and China. The off-the-record discussions offer participants an opportunity to speak candidly about issues often deemed too controversial to be discussed in official Track I bilateral discussions.

In July of this year, days after Taiwan and mainland China ended their first formal talks in nearly a decade, the PDP bipartisan civilian/military delegation, led by PDP Co-directors William J. Perry and Ashton B. Carter, arrived in Asia for the ninth of these meetings. The timing was fortuitous as both Taiwan and mainland China had just agreed to take important steps to improve relations across the Strait.

In its meetings with officials in Taipei and Beijing – including Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou and President of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Mr. Chen Yunlin – the PDP delegation encouraged leaders on both sides to seize this opportunity for an improved relationship. All parties acknowledged an historic–but limited–window of opportunity to make meaningful progress toward a more peaceful, stable, and lasting arrangement between Taipei and Beijing.

The American delegation worked with its counterparts on both sides of the Strait to identify additional steps all parties might take to further improve regional stability. In addition, participants examined regional security issues, including the continued nonproliferation challenges posed by North Korea and Iran, and identified opportunities for Sino-U.S. cooperation on a variety of security issues, with special attention paid to developments in environmental protection and energy policies.

At the workshop’s conclusion, participants agreed that this year's meeting was the most productive to date and returned to their home institutions to promote opportunities for further cooperation in both the Cross-Strait and U.S.-China relationships.

For more information about this publication please contact the Belfer Center Communications Office at 617-495-9858.

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