. | . |
China Fights U.S. ABM Sales To Taiwan
UPI Senior News Analyst Washington (UPI) Sep 06, 2005 China has renewed its efforts to stop America selling missile defenses to Taiwan as the island republic moves closer to accepting an arms package offered by President George W. Bush. In a policy document on arms control approved by its cabinet on Sept. 1, China warned that supplying anti-ballistic missile defenses to Taiwan would be destabilizing and was firmly opposed by Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said. The new document singled out the proposed American supply of six batteries of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles, intended to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. Taiwan has already put into service three US-made PAC-2 anti-missile systems to protect the greater Taipei area, but has called for more help from the United States. "As the Taiwan question involves its core interests, China opposes the attempt by any country to provide help or protection to the Taiwan region of China in the field of missile defense by any means," it states. "China does not wish to see a missile defense system produce negative impact on global strategic stability ... erode trust among big powers or undermine legitimate security interests of other countries." But at the same time, the document restated China's policy that it would never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict. Doubts had been raised by remarks made by Gen. Zhu Chenghu on July 14 to journalists in Hong Kong, in which he said China had no hope of prevailing in a conventional war with the United States. China should therefore withdraw the "no-first-use" pledge and use nuclear weapons should the United States attack the mainland in a conflict over Taiwan. Coming a week before Chinese President Hu Jintao is due to meet President Bush in Washington, the document may signal a new effort to find a compromise on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the Melbourne Age newspaper reported from Beijing. Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin, used a visit to Bush's Texas ranch in October 2002 to float the idea that China could reduce its array of missiles along the Taiwan Strait if Bush dropped his 2001 offer to supply the island with missiles, submarine-hunting aircraft, advanced destroyers and conventional submarines. That approach went nowhere, but Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian is struggling to get a funding bill for the arms deal through the legislature, which is controlled by parties opposed to a rearmament they feel could reinforce moves for permanent separation from China. Last week, the Taiwan Government said it would trim the proposed special arms budget to $11 billion from $15 billion, in an effort to push the bill through. All rights reserved. � 2005 United Press International. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by United Press International.. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of United Press International. Related Links SpaceWar Search SpaceWar Subscribe To SpaceWar Express BMD Focus: Miracles Are Easy, Turf Is Hard Washington (UPI) Sep 02, 2005 For the U.S. armed forces' high tech planners, performing miracles is easy: It's breaking down bureaucratic barriers and integrating obsolete systems that is hard.
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. |