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China adding missiles near Taiwan: navy official from china-defense-mashup.com
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Mar.29 (China Military News cited from Reuters and written by Ralph Jennings) — China has added long-range missiles near Taiwan and leads the self-ruled island in military defenses, a U.S. navy official said, suggesting that Taiwan may need new F-16 jet fighters.
China has deployed “an increasing number” of Russian surface-to-air missiles across an ocean strait about 160 km (100 miles) from Taiwan, U.S. Navy Commander Robert Willard told a Senate committee in Washington but did not give a timeframe.
PLA Air Force HQ-9 long-range anti-air missile system
“Beijing remains committed to eventual unification with Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve that goal,” Willard said, according to a statement made available on Saturday by the U.S. Pacific Command.
“The (People’s Liberation Army’s) continued military advancements sustain a trend of shifting the cross-Strait military balance in Beijing’s favor,” he said.
A $6.4-billion U.S. arms package for Taiwan announced in January would shore up the island’s self-defense, but has enraged China.
Although Willard did not say whether Washington should grant Taiwan’s long sought request to buy F-16 fighter jets, seen as a red line in already tense Sino-U.S. ties, he said existing aircraft would “have to be recapitalized.”
China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to the island. But ties have warmed since 2008 as the two sides began to talk trade.
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China says still wants military talks with Taiwan from china-defense-mashup.com
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Mar.17 (China Military News cited from reuters and Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Ralph Jennings in Taipei) — China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has threatened to attack if Taiwan tries to declare independence.
Following the election of China-friendly Ma Ying-jeou as Taiwan president in 2008, the two sides have signed a series of landmark trade and tourism deals. But military suspicions on both sides remain deep and there has been no progress on political talks.
Relations have strained of late following a U.S. decision earlier this year to sell a new batch of weapons to Taiwan, though China’s anger has been directed more at Washington than Taipei.
“We agree with looking at the issue of setting up a military and security mutual trust mechanism for both sides at an appropriate time,” Yang Yi, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular news briefing.
“This process should progress step by step and in proper order, dealing with the easy first and the hard later.
“For example, it could begin with exchanges between retired military officers and related academics,” Yang said, without elaborating.
China has made similar suggestions in the past, but had not repeated them recently.
The island’s deputy defence minister, Andrew Yang, told Reuters, though, that Taiwan would not pursue military talks any time soon, since it is focussed on a free trade-style deal and building more overall trust with Beijing.
Military talks are unlikely next year as the island ramps up for the 2012 presidential race, he added.
“There’s no policy at the moment, and in the foreseeable future I don’t see a chance to go ahead with that,” Yang said. “It’s not feasible to discuss now. It’s too complex.”
Premier Wen Jiabao offered last year at the annual meeting of parliament to hold political and military talks with democratic Taiwan and sign a peace agreement with the island. Wen did not repeat the offer at this year’s session.
Taiwan says China aims more than 1,000 missiles at it and there has been no sign these are starting to be pulled back, despite a warming of relations.
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China suspends military visits with U.S. over planned arms sales to Taiwan from china-defense-mashup.com
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BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) — China on Saturday decided to suspend scheduled visits between the Chinese and U.S. armed forces, in response to Washington’s plan to sell a package of arms worth about 6.4 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan.
“We made the decision out of considerations on the severe harm of the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan,” said Defense Ministry spokesman Huang Xueping in a statement.
The U.S. government on Friday announced the plans to sell a package of arms to Taiwan, which include Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and minesweepers. China immediately expressed strong indignation about the sale after the U.S. government notified the U.S. Congress of the plans.
Qian Lihua, director of the Defense Ministry’s Foreign Affairs Office, on Saturday summoned the defense attache of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to lodge a stern protest.
“The Chinese military expresses grave indignation and strongly condemns such a move to grossly interfere into China’s internal affairs and harm China’s national security interests,” Qian said in a press release of the office.
Taiwan issue is related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and concerns China’s core interests.
“The U.S. arms sales to Taiwan gravely violates the three joint communiques between China and the United States, and seriously endangers China’s national security and harms China’s reunification course,” Qian said.The U.S. such move also constitutes severe violation of the agreements reached by the top leaders of both sides on the China-U.S. relations in the new situation, he said.
Bayi-Building, the location of Chinese Defense Ministry
It runs counter to the principles of the joint statement issued during U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to China in November last year, said Qian.
The U.S. plan will definitely bring about serious negative impact on the relations between the two countries and militaries, and will to the end severely undermine the interests of the United States itself, he noted.
The United States have reiterated in many occasions that it will adhere to the one-China policy, abide by the three joint communiques and support the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Straits.
“However, the United States now takes faithless action to sell arms to Taiwan again,” Qian said such plans severely poison the political foundation of the relations between the two militaries, and produce grave obstacles to military exchanges between the two sides.
Qian urged the United States to respect China’s core interests and concerns, take practical actions to abide by its solemn commitments on Taiwan issue, withdraw its arms sales items to Taiwan, and stop military links with Taiwan, in order not to create further damage to the relations between the two countries and the two militaries and to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.
“We reserve the right of taking further actions,” he noted.
According to Huang, the spokesman, “such a move is gravely against especially the ‘Aug. 17′ communique signed in 1982.”
The U.S. side states in the Communique that “it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan” and “intends to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution.”
“We will never give in or compromise in this issue,” the statement quoted Huang as saying, noting that the Chinese military will firmly fight against any move to destroy China’s national sovereignty security and territorial integrity.
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