Washington's timing said it all
On the face of it, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage may have just been clarifying Washington's obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act.
But in the complicated world of cross-strait relations, the timing says more than the words.
The interview with Mr Armitage was conducted and aired on December 10, two days after a meeting between Mr Armitage and his Chinese counterpart, Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo , in Washington. That meeting focused exclusively on Taiwan.
The interview was aired on the eve of the December 11 Taiwanese legislative election. It was no secret that Beijing was losing sleep about a potential Democratic Progressive Party win, while Washington was furious about provocative campaign statements made by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. However, Monday's release of a transcript of Mr Armitage's interview was 10 days late, a break in State Department custom of releasing such records within 24 hours.
It also followed a Reuters interview with an unnamed State Department official who blasted Beijing's plans for an anti-secession law
While those remarks are likely to be interpreted by Taipei as Washington speaking in its favour, the sudden release of Mr Armitage's comments will certainly balance the scales in the other direction.
