Chen: China has not reduced threat level despite overtures

President Chen Shui-bian speaks at a Taipei seminar on the reform of the armed forces yesterday. Chen said that the Democratic Progressive Party has long advocated an all-volunteer military, but that the process must be carried out gradually, with national security as the ultimate consideration. PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that the Chinese military threat toward Taiwan has not been alleviated over the past four years.

Addressing an audience at the opening of an international symposium on Taiwan's national defense, Chen said the country's defense is a firewall against the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Chen said that since he spelled out his "five noes" pledge during his inauguration in 2000 as a gesture of goodwill to China, he has not seen Beijing reduce its military threat toward Taiwan.

On the contrary, he said, China's arms buildup, particularly its missile deployment targeting Taiwan, has increased rapidly over the past four years.

The PLA's speedy modernization, particularly the improvement of the precision of its ballistic missiles and its large-scale deployment of missiles, is a factor contributing to the increasing changes in the military balance across the Taiwan Strait, Chen said.

Chen said that military intelligence indicates that the number of the PLA's tactical guided missiles increased 11-fold between 1995 and last year and is still rising at the rate of one every six days.

Facing Beijing's ever-mounting military threat, he said, the Taiwanese people must come together and throw their support behind the armed forces, while the government accelerates the modernization of its military, including the building of anti-missile preparedness.

Chen stressed that the factor of "people" stills plays an important role in efforts to upgrade Taiwan's overall defense capability and competitiveness. Thus, seeking to raise the caliber of military personnel is one of the goals of national defense reform, he said.

As commander of the country's armed forces, Chen said, it is his responsibility to ensure that national security is well protected. He added that he will refer to professional expertise from the Ministry of National Defense whenever making comments regarding military affairs.

Still, he said, he cannot agree with some of the "empty promises" made by his presidential rival about the nation's military recruitment and conscription policy.

Chen said that while he has advocated a system of recruitment for 10 years, he has also said that the policy on maintaining a standing army must be implemented step by step, with the country's national security being the ultimate goal.

Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman (KMT) Lien Chan (連戰) said in a debate with Chen last week that he advocates a system of recruitment or drafting for the armed forces that would encourage more career soldiers and that compulsory military service should be shortened to three months instead of the current 20 months.

Commenting on Lien's remarks, Chen said Lien was issuing a campaign check that will bounce.