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Editorial: Missile defense not pie in the sky

Should Taiwan hold joint military exercises with the US? Can Taiwan resist China's missile threat without joining the Theater Missile Defense system? These questions have prompted considerable noise from Taiwan's pro-unification media.

Does Taiwan have the wherewithal to stop a Chinese invasion or a missile attack? A local pro-unification newspaper, the China Times, said in its editorial yesterday: "Taiwan's true security lies neither in weapons nor dependence on a superpower, but in starting a cross-strait dialogue and reconciliation." The newspaper cited this as a reason to oppose Taiwan's participation in the US-led missile defense system.

Given China's continuing military threats against Taiwan, and given the plight of Hong Kong and Macau after returning to Beijing's rule, what other means -- other than strong defense capabilities -- ?does Taiwan have to stop China from treating it like a lamb waiting for slaughter?

Under British rule, Hong Kong was deprived of the ability to resist Beijing while London pinned its hopes for the territory's future on Beijing's promises. But less than four years after the handover, the promise of keeping Hong Kong's government system intact for at least 50 years is worth less than a pre-World War II Shanghai bond. And not only has Hong Kong's judiciary lost its final appeal powers, the "popularly elected" -- by 800 handpicked yes-men -- chief executive can now be fired by Beijing. Are China's promises worth anything at all?

Nevertheless, Taiwan's pro-unification, pro-China media -- especially the China Times, United Daily News and TVBS -- continue to lie and pander to Beijing, saying cross-strait dialogue and reconciliation are the people's best choice for the future of their hard-won democracy and economic success. They lie to the people of Taiwan in disseminating fraudulent opinion polls "proving" a growing acceptance of "one country, two systems." And they continue to browbeat the government, warning it not to provoke Beijing but to appease it instead.

Ruan Ming (阮銘), a former aide to the late Communist Party secretary general Hu Yaobang (胡耀邦), recently pointed out that a vast majority of the people in China still earn less than US$3 a day. Is this what the people of Taiwan aspire to? Faced with a Chinese regime that cares more about building up military muscle and ensuring the comfort of its chosen few instead of improving the plight of its own people, how can Taiwan not work to ensure its own national security through regional defense mechanisms?

North Korea's test-firing of the Taepodong-1 missile over the Sea of Japan in August 1998 triggered concern in the US, Japan and South Korea which in turn led to discussions on developing a joint missile defense system. Taiwan has no reason to stay out of the system given that China staged two missile tests into the seas off Taiwan in March 1996 and others in August 1995. A joint US-Taiwan military program would certainly help raise Taiwan's defense

capabilities.

Last Saturday, the US military successfully tested a missile interceptor, bringing down an intercontinental ballistic missile. It was the Pentagon's fourth anti-ballistic missile test and its second successful one. Despite critics both at home and abroad -- especially in China and Russia -- the Bush administration is determined to move ahead with a missile defense system. The US is likely to deploy the system both on its soil and in allied countries in East Asia in order to prevent military adventurism in the region.

Perhaps Taiwan's pro-unificationists will say TMD is too expensive for Taiwan. But what use is all the wealth Taiwan has accumulated if the country does not have sufficient measures to ensure national security and safeguard the people's welfare? The pro-unification media will need far better reasoning to persuade the people of Taiwan otherwise.
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