曲折的平衡:美国里根政府售台FX战机决策

Tortuous Balance: Decision-Making Process of Reagan Administration’s FX Fighter Sale to Taiwan

就职伊始,里根为了升级美台关系与保全诺斯罗普公司的经济利益,积极推动售台FX战机,由此引发中美关系降级危机。这使里根内阁中在FX战机问题上原本就有的争论更加激烈。白宫继续坚持出售,国务院主张推迟,军方与情报部门则建议不要出售。最后,由于国务院的妥协并与军方达成一致意见,白宫开始转变态度,接受平衡中国大陆、台湾地区、诺斯罗普公司三方利益的方案,有条件拒绝售台FX战机。通过对FX战机问题的处理,里根认识到台湾问题的复杂性,转变此前的亲台政策,开始在大陆与台湾之间执行平衡策略。

Soon after he took office,President Reagan started the sale of FX fighters to Taiwan in order to upgrade the US-Taiwan relations and to maintain the Northrop’s economic interests,thus triggering the downgrade crisis of Sino-US relations. The dispute among Reagan’s cabinet over the issue of FX sale became more intense. The White House insisted on the sale,the State Department proposed postponing,and the military and intelligence services suggested cancelling the sale.Finally,the State Department compromised and reached agreement with the military,and the White House began to change its attitude and accepted the plan of balancing the interests of the PRC,Taiwan and Northrop,and conditionally gave up the FX fighter sale to Taiwan. Reagan realized the complexity of the Taiwan Question,and he began to adopt a realistic attitude and came to pursue a balanced strategy between Chinese Mainland and Taiwan.