Lee backs Taiwan's participation in TMD
from CHINA NEWS, 19 August 1999President Lee Teng-hui said yesterday that Taiwan should join a proposed US-Japan theatre missile shield as China lambasted the plan as an attempt to dominate the Asia-Pacific region.
Lee gave his backing after hearing a report on Taiwan's possible role on Theatre Missile Defense (TMD) at a central standing committee meeting of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT).
With Taiwan facing a growing military threat from mainland China because of its demand for state-to-state relations, Lee said "setting up a TMD system would cope with the current situation and be in the nation's interest."
"Every effort (for the system) deserves praise," he was quoted as saying by KMT spokesman Huang Hui-jen.
Lee ordered government agencies to work with the defense ministry on the plans that could cost the island several billion dollars.
In his report to the KMT meeting, Defense Minister Tang Fei said any military buildup must serve to safeguard the people and ensure "an equal footing in any negotiations between the two sides."
"In addition to wisdom, physical strength is indispensable in enforcing national strategy," Tang said.
Taiwan has demanded parity and democracy in any reunification talks with China, and turned down Beijing's offer of "One Country, Two Systems," the formula used by Beijing when it reclaimed Hong Kong from Britain in 1997.
In June the Taiwanese leader reportedly said Taipei would join the TMD plans as long as Beijing's ballistic weapons were perceived as a threat.
"It is unreasonable to ask us not to come up with self-defense counter-measures while we are gravely threatened," Lee said.
More than 100 Chinese ballistic missiles have been deployed along the southeast coast of China facing Taiwan, according to Taiwan's defense ministry.
And media reports estimated that 600 more could be deployed in southeastern China over the next few years.
Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province, views Taiwan's statehood claim as a shift away from the "One China policy" accepted by Beijing, Taipei and Washington and which has kept an unsteady peace in the region for nearly five decades.
On Monday, US and Japanese officials signed a memorandum of understanding to research a sea-based missile defense system, amid fears North Korea is preparing to test fire a new missile.
The defense weaponry uses satellites to pinpoint incoming missiles which are then shot them down.
China also virulently opposes the TMD system.
The People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, has accused Japan of fabricating unconvincing reasons to pursue the missile shield.
"If this situation is going to develop further, it will seriously affect the whole area's peace and stability. It will also unsettle the international community and raise its vigilance," the Chinese commentary said.
Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said this year that including Taiwan in any TMD system "would constitute a violation of international agreements on missiles and encroach on China's sovereignty and interfere in our international affairs."
Washington has not yet decided whether to include Taipei in the TMD plans but US officials have said Washington is prepared to "continue to provide hardware to Taiwan" in line with bilateral agreements.
Japan yesterday sought to allay Chinese fears over its plans for joint research with the United States on an anti-ballistic missile system.
The system "is purely defensive. It is to shoot down incoming missiles and I do not believe such a measure poses a threat to any other country," said a Japanese foreign ministry official.Copyright 1999 China News
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