DATE=9/10/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA / TAIWAN (L)
NUMBER=2-253690
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China says its military has carried out what
appears to have been a mock invasion of Taiwan -- an
island Beijing regards as a breakaway province. V-O-
A's Stephanie Ho reports news of the Chinese military
drills come as cross-strait tensions are high,
following comments by Taiwan's president saying China
should deal with the island as an equal state.
TEXT: In an interview two months ago, Taiwanese
president Lee Teng-hui sparked the latest strain in
cross-strait relations by calling for China to treat
the island like a sovereign state.
Shortly afterwards, Hong Kong media were full of
unconfirmed reports of Chinese troop movements or war
games in the waters near Taiwan.
Friday, China's official Xinhua news agency reported
Chinese warplanes, ships and thousands of soldiers
carried out landing exercises on the coast of Zhejiang
province -- across from Taiwan -- and in Guangdong
province.
Xinhua calls the drills large and says they took place
earlier this month. But the report does not say when
they happened or how many troops and vessels
participated.
On hand for the exercises was Zhang Wannian -- deputy
chairman of China's Central Military Commission, the
supreme civilian body controlling the armed forces.
Mr. Zhang warned the Chinese army is ready to crush
any attempts to split the motherland. He says the
exercises showed the Chinese military's determination
to safeguard territorial integrity and its strength to
maintain national unity.
The latest report of military drills cannot be
independently confirmed. But, if it is true, it is
China's most-threatening gesture yet at Taiwan. It
also appears aimed at countering claims China lacks
sufficient landing craft and experience to invade the
island.
Still, the Chinese military might not need to
completely rely on its own resources. Nanjing
Military Area commander Chen Bingde is quoted as
saying he could mobilize more than 100-thousand
civilian ships for use in a large-scale sea crossing.
The strait separating the island from the mainland is
120-kilometers wide, at its narrowest point.
Taiwanese and U-S military officials have said they
saw no unusual military activity in the Taiwan
Straits. Taipei accuses Beijing of using unconfirmed
reports of Chinese military exercises and war games to
wage psychological warfare against the island.
(signed)
NEB/HO/ wd
10-Sep-1999 06:02 AM LOC (10-Sep-1999 1002 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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