Print

Mail

wiki links

No unusual Chinese troop movements, MND reports

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday that it had not detected any unusual movements by the Chinese military ahead of the March 22 presidential election.

The Chinese military has made threatening movements prior to previous presidential elections in an attempt to intimidate voters.

Ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) said the Chinese military had not held any exercises since the Lunar New Year, although more than 1,300 missiles remain targeted at Taiwan.

He said China had more than 700 fighter jets, in excess of 90 naval vessels and more than 60,000 troops within striking distance of Taiwan.

Yu said more than 600,000 soldiers and 1.9 million reservists had been involved in disaster relief work as China struggled through its harshest winter in half a century.

Military freighters had been used to transport consumer goods and officials to oversee relief efforts, the spokesman said.

Yu said the Taiwanese military would allow as many of its soldiers as possible to leave their units to vote in the presidential election, provided this did not threaten national security.
This story has been viewed 1866 times.