Taiwan is Seeking Missiles That Could Hit China

September 26, 2004
By Kathrin Hille in Taipei

Taiwan has for the first time admitted it is seeking offensive military capabilities that would enable it to launch land strikes against China.

In remarks likely to add to tension with China and disturb relations with the US, Yu Shyi-kun, the Taiwanese premier, said the country should seek to deter a Chinese attack by building a "balance of terror" like that between the US and the Soviet Union during the cold war.

"If you fire 100 missiles at me, I should also be able to fire 100 missiles at you, or at least 50," Mr Yu said. "If you strike Taipei and Kaohsiung, I should at least be able to strike Shanghai."

The statement, made in response to opposition protests against a T$610bn ($18bn) US arms procurement plan, confirms that the government of president Chen Shui-bian has adjusted its defensive military doctrine to include counter-attack elements.

So far, the government has been reluctant publicly to admit the change because the US, the island's sole protector against the military threat from Beijing, opposes plans by Taipei to develop offensive weapons. Washington is keen to avoid conflict with China and fears the escalation of an arms race in east Asia.

Thousands of demonstrators marched through Taipei on Saturday, urging the government to scrap the US weapons package that they said would trigger an arms race with China and squeeze social welfare.

Mr Chen has in the past only said he wants the island to be capable of "winning a war decisively outside the country", but his government has rejected the interpretation that this would include land-attack capabilities against China.

In 1999, Lien Chan, then vice-president and presidential candidate of the Kuomintang party, suggested that Taiwan develop an offensive missile capability as a deterrent against a Chinese attack. His statement had been the clearest in favour of a change in doctrine, but Mr Lien lost the 2000 presidential election to Mr Chen.

China, which claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island and refuses to give up military force as an option for future unification, is building an offensive missile arsenal against Taiwan.

According to Taipei's Ministry of National Defense, the mainland has deployed more than 610 ballistic missiles targeting the island and is increasing the number at a pace of 75 a year.

Although Mr Yu's comments are likely to provoke an angry response from the mainland, Beijing might find them helpful in its efforts to depict Mr Chen's government as a troublemaker and hurdle to ending the dispute between the two countries.

Mr Chen has repeatedly stated he wanted to build peaceful relations with China. He was re-elected in March on a platform highlighting China's military threat towards Taiwan.

Analysts said a partly offensive military strategy, including a potential strike against Chinese territory, would weaken his credibility in seeking peace.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/aadf853a-0fe9-11d9-ba62-00000e2511c8.html