China preparing post-inaugural military exercise

China is planning to launch the biggest exercises by its armed forces since 1996 along its southeastern coast following Taiwan's presidential inauguration on May 20, sources told Taipei Times yesterday.

The exercises, which will likely involve the test-firing of China's M-class ballistic missiles on a scale similar to tests conducted in 1996, are reportedly set to take place not long after Taiwan's May 20 presidential inauguration.

At the same time, the Taipei Times has learned that the US will also conduct naval maneuvers in the Pacific, where aircraft carrier battle groups will be able to both observe the drills and respond if necessary.

China's drills will allegedly include amphibious landings and joint-forces operations, covering areas from China's southeastern coast to seas in the vicinity of Taiwan's Pengchia islet (彭佳嶼), the sources said.

The scale and range of the exercises are to be similar to a series of drills which China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched against Taiwan between the summer of 1995 and the presidential election held in March of 1996.

Troops mainly from China's Nanjing military region are undergoing intensive training in order to be mobilized for the drill.

Several PLA leaders have all-egedly been stationed in Fujian province for as long as a month to supervise what is believed to be preparations for the amphibious landing portion of the exercises.

The exercise could also be the prelude to even larger war games expected to take place in October, sources said.

At a military press conference held last week, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Kung Fan-ding (孔繁定) said the PLA entered an intensive training period last month. But Kung denied there had been any irregular deployment of troops on the mainland.

The US, sources said, will simultaneously conduct naval maneuvers between Guam and Okinawa, where its aircraft carrier battle groups will await any further instructions from Washington.

Okinawa is approximately 200 nautical miles from Taiwan, perfect for the US to watch the PLA drills from a safe distance and still be able to come to Taiwan's aid in the event of an emergency.

One defense official, who declined to be identified, said it is not surprising that the US sent a delegation of former White House officials to Taipei, as they had sent a similar team during the 1996 crisis.

Chinese academic Yu Keli (余克禮), deputy director of the Taiwan Research Institute under the China Academy of Social Sciences, also carried a message during his recent visit to Taiwan that Beijing wants the incoming administration to accept the "one China" principle in exchange for an end to military harassment, the official said.