Taipei, Aug. 9 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Monday denied a newspaper report that the military will withdraw chaparral missiles from the Republic of China-held frontline island of Matsu, which lies closer to mainland China than to Taiwan.
A press statement released by the Office of the Military Spokesman said chaparral missiles deployed on Matsu are still in a state of combat preparedness. "The military does not have any plan to relocate the chaparral missiles at the moment," the statement stressed.
The statement went on to say that the ROC armed forces has a consistent and well-designed military deployment and adjustment plan, and that strict procedures must be followed when the plan is implemented.
The MND also urged local news media to base its military-related reports on information released by the ministry, and to avoid speculating on military-related events, as such speculation has an adverse effect on national morale.
In related news, meanwhile, the ministry responded to press reports that the ROC Air Force has decided to cancel many warplane display flights during an upcoming Taipei aviation trade fair amid the current tension in the Taiwan Strait.
The ministry stressed that Air Force General Headquarters had never agreed in the first place to conduct dynamic airborne flight performances in connection with the aviation show to be held at the Taipei World Trade Center from Aug. 12-15.
"The reports are completely unfounded," the Office of the Military Spokesman said in another press release.
The MND press release explained that air force authorities did not agree to an airborne exhibition during this year's aviation trade fair for several reasons, one of which is that the air force base in Taoyuan, some 35 kilometers south of Taipei, is undergoing refurbishment, and another of which is that the exhibition overlaps with the celebration of the founding anniversary of the Chinese Air Force Academy.
Air force activities in the skies over the Taiwan Strait have increased since ROC President Lee Teng-hui defined cross-strait relations as a "special state-to-state relationship" on July 9. The definition has angered Beijing, prompting communist saber-rattling in recent weeks, and spawning wild local speculation on military activities of both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The MND said it hopes local news media, and society in general, will stop such speculation, and also stop spreading unsubstantiated rumors, to avoid disrupting domestic stability.
(By Sofia Wu)
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