The United States is obliged to meet Taiwan's defense needs under the Taiwan Relations Act and will evaluate which weapons it is prepared to sell to Taiwan based on the overall security situation, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said Thursday. Steinberg made the remarks in response to a question on whether Washington will sell F-16C/D fighters to Taiwan. He was attending an event held by the Center for a New American Security (selfnewsS) to mark the launch of a new selfnewsS report on China's rise. In his keynote address, Steinberg said the United States welcomes China's peaceful rise and expects it to play a positive role in promoting world peace, stability and prosperity. He said the opening of dialogue between Taiwan and China is inspiring and that Washington hopes the two sides will further discuss the establishment of a confidence-building mechanism to stabilize cross-Taiwan Strait relations. 