US President George W. Bush on Friday telephoned Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to discuss tensions with Taiwan and the North Korean nuclear crisis, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
The two leaders "reaffirmed their commitment to work together on the issue of North Korea and their nuclear weapons program," the spokesman said as Bush traveled here for a stop on his reelection campaign.
And Bush told Hu that US policy towards Taiwan "remains the same," based on the "one-China" policy but also on US legislation that requires Washington to provide Taipei with weaponry for self-defense, McClellan said.
Hu said China would "exert its utmost efforts with its utmost sincerity to resolve the Taiwan issue by peaceful means", the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
However, Beijing would never tolerate "the independence of Taiwan," Hu added.
The Chinese leader also reiterated China's opposition to US sales of sophisticated weapons to Taiwan, saying that the current situation across the Taiwan Strait was very sensitive.
Washington urged Beijing and Taipei earlier this month to ensure that military exercises they are conducting this month are not provocative and do not add to cross-strait tension.
During the call, Bush "talked about the importance of our relationship with China, as well," said McClellan.
China is North Korea's closest ally and host of six-party negotiations to resolve the issue. It has called for Washington and Pyongyang to show more mutual trust.
The United States has told China there is no change in its demand that all Pyongyang's nuclear programs be addressed in the search for a resolution to the nuclear standoff, the US embassy in Beijing said Friday.
US envoy Joseph DeTrani conveyed the message to China's pointman on North Korea Ning Fukui in talks described as "in-depth" by Beijing.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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