Official downplays missiles

An M-class missile base, which China is reported to have recently completed in Fujian Province, has already been in operation for two years, defense minister Wu Shih-wen (伍世文) said yesterday upon returning from a foreign trip.

"There is nothing new about the so-called `new' M-class missile deployment in Fujian. The Dongfeng-11, also known as the M-11 missile, has been deployed at reported sites in Jungan and Xienyou in Fujian since 1999. We have known about it since then," Wu said.

Wu was responding to inquiries from the press over a recent report by the Washington Times that China has completed its second M-class missile base in Fujian, opposite Taiwan.

Wu made the response at CKS International Airport as he returned from a 12-day visit to three diplomatic allies in Latin America.

Wu visited Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, meeting with his defense counterparts in those countries.

It was Wu's first official overseas trip since he took office last May. Wu visited Singapore earlier this year but said the trip was personal, rather than business-related.

While in Guatemala, Wu reviewed a Taiwan naval fleet.

The friendly fleet, comprised of three naval ships, set out in February for its port visit to diplomatic allies in the Pacific and Latin America.

In related news, Army Commander-in-Chief General Chen Cheng-hsiang (陳鎮湘) is to leave today for Paraguay to attend a ceremony marking Taiwan's donation of six UH-1H transport helicopters to the nation's military. Two of the six UH-1Hs have been delivered to Paraguay, with the remaining four expected to arrive there in the near future, a news agency report said.

Chen's visit to Paraguay is part of a series of foreign trips taken by military leaders in recent months.

Besides Wu's Latin American trip, Air Force chief General Chen Chao-ming (陳肇敏) recently traveled to Japan, and trips to the US by Navy chief Admiral Li Chieh (李傑) and Deputy Chief of the General Staff General Ho Shou-yeh (守業) are in the works.

A defense official, who declined to be identified, said the series of foreign trips by military leaders are part of the "military diplomacy" Taiwan is now adopting to promote relations with friendly countries and diplomatic allies.

"The idea behind the diplomacy is that military leaders can contribute something to the country through private or formal contacts with their counterparts in the countries visited, which could [later] be useful to Taiwan," the official said.

"If the countries to be visited have no diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the military leaders can choose to visit them as tourists. Air Force chief Chen's visit to Japan in late February is an example [of such a trip]," he said.