China has kicked off war games simulating an invasion of Taiwan, witnesses and a Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspaper said yesterday, as military chief Jiang Zemin (
China believes President Chen Shui-bian (
The week-long land, sea and air exercises started on Dongshan island off China's southeastern coast in the first half the month after months of preparation, the Ta Kung Pao newspaper said.
About 18,000 troops were taking part in the exercises, which would aim for the first time to demonstrate air superiority in the Taiwan Strait, the paper said.
But it was business as usual for Dongshan residents.
"I can see ships and soldiers, but it's far away ... I have no time to watch the exercises," a resident who would only give his surname, Chi, said by telephone from Dongshan.
"Why worry? There are exercises every year," he said.
A hotel employee said: "It's a secret. We're not allowed to watch or ask questions lest we're mistaken for spies."
Dongshan, 280 km from Penghu, has been the site of eight drills since 1996, when China attempted to interfere with the nation's first-ever presidential elections by launching ballistic missiles into the Taiwan Strait, before backing down after the US sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the region.
The period "before or after 2020 is the time to resolve the Taiwan issue," military chief and ex-Communist Party chief Jiang told a recent expanded meeting of the Central Military Commission, the decision-making body of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po newspaper said.
The meeting also approved military, political, logistics and armament development plans over an unspecified period for the 2.5-million-strong PLA, the newspaper said. It gave no details.
Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-shan (邱太三) called for negotiations and peace.
"We need to sit down and discuss any problems concerning both sides. We must try to resolve our problems on the basis of peace and stability," Chiu told a news conference.
"The United States, Japan and the European Union have all said cross-Strait issues should be resolved through peaceful means," he said. "Communist China has pledged to focus on economic development. The report clearly violates its policy."
Taiwan is holding the annual Han Kuang, or "Han Glory" exercises later this month to test combat readiness in the face of what Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) has said was a significantly higher likelihood that China would use force to recover the island.
In Washington, Pentagon officials said a crisis-simulation drill based on a growing Chinese military threat to Taiwan was played out this week by US decision makers.
The exercise, called Dragon's Thunder, was held on Monday.
Also See Story:
Editorial: Peace must be the bottom line
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS