US-Taiwan radar deal angers China

BBC ^

[maui_hawaii]

China has denounced a proposed US sale of advanced radar equipment to Taiwan. The Pentagon announced the planned sale on Wednesday, and said it had been agreed in principle in 1999.

But China said the US move breached its commitments to Beijing and sent the "wrong signal" to pro-independence groups in Taiwan, Reuters reported.

China has deployed hundreds of missiles across the Taiwan strait, and is worried the US radar systems could delay it gaining the upper hand.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told reporters that China has always been opposed to US arms sales to Taiwan.

"Especially under the current complicated and sensitive situation across the Taiwan Strait, we ask the United States to be faithful to what it says and abide by its promises and not send the wrong signal to Taiwan's independence (seekers)," she said.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened war if the island ever declared formal independence.

But the US is legally bound to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons, and the US is also worried that China's rapidly rising military budget will soon give it the military edge over the island.

Relations across the Taiwan Strait are especially tense following the 20 March re-election of President Chen Shui-bian.

Mr Chen has pledged to push ahead with plans to rewrite the island's constitution, which Beijing sees as a way to move the island closer towards formal independence.

The Pentagon said the radar deal - which could be worth up to $1.8bn - would help Taiwan detect ballistic and cruise missiles.

The Pentagon describes the equipment as ultra-high frequency long-range early warning radars.

The sale would not, the Pentagon insists, affect the basic military balance in the region.

But the BBC's Pentagon correspondent points out that US defence sales to Taiwan are always a sensitive subject. China formally protested over the last big US arms package of destroyers, submarines and aircraft three years ago.

Significantly, that package did not include the most advanced design of US destroyers, equipped with powerful radars and missiles that might eventually have formed part of an anti-missile defence system.

However, a number of US defence experts familiar with the negotiations over the latest radars say they are chiefly passive warning systems, not active defences, our correspondent says.

The experts also argue that the potential threats to Taiwan from Chinese missiles and air strikes have increased significantly in recent years.

[SolutionsOnly]

Their natural state is to have their panties in a bunch, so their being upset is no biggie.

[rod1]

Yeah--SURPRISE SURPRISE

Not quite a breaking news story

[Fitzcarraldo]

Take that, Chicoms. Well, you can always send your vast armada of state of the art amphibs across the straits under the radar:

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1108141/posts

[azhenfud]

"...and sent the 'wrong signal"

Reminds me of a saying:
Life is like RADAR. If you send out a bad signal, you'll get a bad return.

[maui_hawaii]

agreed

[theDentist]

"This wouldn't have happened if Gore were in office," they pouted! {/sarcasm}

[thoughtomator]

Maybe we should set up some nukes in Taiwan, hardwired to hit Beijing and Shanghai, and put the Taiwanese in control of them. (Think of the USSR trying to place missiles in Cuba.)

[hedgetrimmer]

U.S., China Repair Ties After Plane Crash

China objects to any foreign weapons sales to Taiwan. The United States has no formal relations with the island but is its biggest arms supplier and is committed by law to help it defend itself.

A Pentagon statement said the radar sale wouldn't affect the regional military balance — a key issue for Washington, which wants to avoid an arms race. Beijing plans to "seek clarification" from the American government.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) in Berlin on Wednesday, urged Washington to "oppose Taiwan independence" and "refrain from any official contact with the Taiwan authorities."


Members of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company's recovery team stabilize the horizontal stabilizer of the EP-3 as a crane removes the vertical stabilizer in this June 23, 2001 file photo in Hainan, China. Three years after a collision between an American spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet pushed relations to a new low, Beijing and Washington are squabbling over human rights, visa policies and the always volatile issue of weapons sales to Taiwan. (AP Photo/Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.,HO, FILE)

[hedgetrimmer]

A national flag with writing that reads 'Equality' is placed in front of a statue of liberty at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on April 1, 2004. Taiwan's president Chen Shui-bian has urged the United States to take a 'more active, constructive' role in encouraging a dialogue between Taiwan and China. China scolded the United States Thursday for its planned sale of long-range early-warning radar worth up to $1.78 billion to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province. Photo by Kin Cheung/Reuters

A national flag with writing that reads 'Equality' is placed in front of a statue of liberty at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei
Taiwan gets it, China doesn't.