SIGHTINGS



China Steps Up Military
Pressure Over Taiwan
8-2-99

 
 
 
 
China summoned a US Embassy official on Monday to protest at Washington's plan to sell $550 million worth of military aircraft and other weapons to Taiwan, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
 
The warning came on the same day that China tested a new type of long-range ground-to-ground missile.
 
China lodged a "strong protest" over the arms sales, which include two E-2T Hawkeye surveillance planes and parts and equipment for F-16 fighter planes.
 
The deal was announced last week by the Pentagon but it is subject to final approval by the Clinton administration.
 
"The proposed sale of this equipment will not affect the basic military balance in the region," the Pentagon said in a statement.
 
But Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Jiechi Yang called on Washington to cancel the deal, saying it would "further intensify tensions across the Taiwan Strait and cause severe damage to Sino-US relations".
 
He urged the US to "take practical steps to correct this mistake".
 
Missile test
 
Xinhua reported that the test was completed successfully, but gave no further details.
 
In May a US congressional report said that China was expected to test its Dong Feng-31 (East Wind) missile.
 
The missile is thought to have a range of 8,000 km (5,000 miles) and is capable of carrying a single 700 kg (1,500 lb) nuclear warhead.
 
Further tests are expected before the missile enters service, possibly in 2000.
 
The Taiwan defence ministry said it had no information on the latest test.
 
Only hours before the test announcement Hong Kong newspapers had reported that Chinese troops in Fujian province facing Taiwan had been put on heightened alert.
 
Policy change
 
Tension has been high between China and Taiwan since Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui stated last month that relations between the two countries should be conducted on a "state-to-state" basis.
 
China considers Taiwan a province of China and has reacted with anger to the the Taiwanese leader's comments.
 
Three years ago, Washington sent two aircraft carrier groups to the Taiwan Straits in an effort to keep a lid on rising tensions between the two sides following Taiwan's first democratic presidential elections.
 
During that bout of tension, just before presidential elections in Taiwan, China test-fired missiles as part of military exercises in the straits.





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