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State Department Noon Briefing

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2001 - 12:35 P.M.

(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)



Q: Do you want to tackle the - (inaudible) - the Pentagon has at
least half the place to go. The Washington Times account that the
Chinese are deploying more and more short-range missiles, threatening
Taiwan. And I guess here would be the issue of Russia providing China
with more technology, dangerous technology.


MR. BOUCHER: There is a limit to what we can say about matters like
this because we don't comment on intelligence or information that
purports to come from intelligence. We have made quite clear we look
forward to having conversations with Chinese leaders in the near
future about China's policies in this region.


As the Secretary has also made clear, we are quite aware of China's
military modernization. It is an issue that we follow. But in terms of
our policy, we will continue to assist Taiwan in meeting its
legitimate defensive needs. That is in accordance with our obligations
under the Taiwan Relations Act and consistent with the US-PRC joint
communiqués.


On the issue of Russian sales, again, quite aware that Russian sales
of various kinds have been reported for several years. We are
certainly aware of these developments. We monitor Russian sales,
developments in the Taiwan Strait and modernization of the Chinese
military. So this is something that we are quite aware of.