President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen cautioned at the same time against a potential outbreak of war in the Taiwan Strait because of miscalculations by the Chinese leadership.
"We can not ignore the fact that we are feeling greater pressure from China because of its growing ballistic missile forces, state-of-the-art weapons and overall arms build-up. They are still likely to miscalculate the situation and launch a war in the Strait," Chen said. "We must therefore constantly be ready for war so as to deter China."
Chen made the statements in a speech to 200 senior officers from all the services, who gathered at a military site in Yangmingshan yesterday for the start of an annual four-day advanced studies session. It is the first time that Chen has spoken to the military leadership on such an occasion.
The advanced studies sessions are held for generals or those likely to be promoted to general, to enrich their knowledge of various fields. A total of 600 officers will have attended this year's sessions by the time the program ends in a month's time.
In his speech, Chen reemphasized his advocacy of conditional economic and political integration with China, which he first brought up in a televised address to the nation at the end of last year.
"I called upon the Beijing leadership in my speech on Dec. 31, last year, to respect the ROC's right to exist in international society. I urged them to publicly renounce the use of force against Taiwan," Chen said.
"[Under these conditions], the two sides of the Strait can best use their wisdom to solve the current stalemate. We can start with economic and cultural integration. We can build mutual trust during the process," he said.
"The ultimate goal is to seek a lasting peace in the Taiwan Strait and construct a framework for the political integration of the two sides. This will be to the greatest interests of people on both sides of the Strait. If we can join hand-in-hand, there will be immense possibilities for both sides," he said.
Chen did not forget, however, to remind officers of the military threat from China despite the bright future he envisioned for them together.
"China's threat to use force against Taiwan is still the biggest danger to the existence and development of Taiwan. It is estimated that by 2005, China will pose a real threat to Taiwan in military satellites, advanced weapons, C4ISR (command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) systems, as well as naval and air power," he said.
In a break following Chen's speech, none of the generals in the audience were willing to talk with the press about what they thought of the speech.
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