- BEIJING (Reuters) - China
warned the United States Friday against taking part in Taiwan's annual
war games, saying any form of military cooperation with the island would
hurt Washington's ties with Beijing.
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- "The Chinese side has made solemn representation
with the U.S. side," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said in
a statement made available to Reuters.
-
- The spokesman was asked to comment on remarks by Taiwan's
Vice Defense Minister Chen Chao-min before parliament on Thursday that
the U.S. military was likely to participate in the 2003 Han Kung, or Chinese
Glory, exercises currently being planned.
-
- Beijing and Taipei have been military and diplomatic
rivals since their split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, and
China regularly protests any country's links with its smaller rival.
-
- Tensions have eased since the late 1980s as their economies
have become increasingly intertwined but Beijing still sees Taiwan as a
rebel province that must be brought back into the fold, by force if necessary.
-
- "Any form of military exchange and cooperation between
the United States and Taiwan will bring harm to China-U.S. relations,"
the spokesman said.
-
- Beijing has asked Washington to stop all forms of military
exchanges, he said. He did not comment further.
-
- Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei
to Beijing in 1979, but remains the island's main arms supplier and trading
partner.
-
- In 2001, President Bush offered to sell Taiwan diesel-electric
submarines, Kidd-class destroyers and 12 P-3C Orion aircraft in the biggest
arms sales in a decade.
-
- Taiwan's mass-circulation China Times newspaper, quoting
unidentified sources, said Thursday U.S. military personnel would be present
at Taiwan's military command center during this year's Han Kuang drills,
usually held in the summer.
-
- But to avoid controversy, U.S. participation would be
in the name of preparation for a possible evacuation of American expatriates
from the island, the daily reported.
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