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Washington, Feb. 24 (CNA) French Defense Minister Alain Richard warned China to refrain from threatening Taiwan, when he spoke to reporters here on Wednesday.

At a press conference following a meeting with his US counterpart, the visiting defense chief from France said: "We do warn China that it's against their interests to make any kind of threat or any kind of -- play military pressure over Taiwan."

Richard noted that he is simply the defense minister, but that he supposes his country's foreign minister would be able to state France's China policy in one sentence: "We definitely want the China, continental China-Taiwan relationship to remain a political one with some legitimacy in looking for unification, but basically, uniquely by political means."

US Defense Secretary William Cohen then reiterated that Washington supports both the "one China" policy and the Taiwan Relations Act and expects that the Chinese will seek reunification by peaceful means and not through either threats of force or an actual attempt to carry out any military activity, adding that that is the policy the United States intends to maintain.

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said at a briefing at the Foreign Press Center that the Taiwan Relations Act makes it very clear that "we would consider any use of force against Taiwan as a threat to security in the South China Sea area and in Asia generally, a threat to stability in that area, and we, the administration, would consult with Congress over the appropriate response."

As for Undersecretary of Defense Walter Slocombe's use of the word "incalculable" in a comment on possible consequences of Chinese military action against Taiwan, Bacon explained that Slocombe said nothing new about US policy: "He just said any use of force, which we oppose, would ... certainly be cause for grave concern here and would lead to unpredictable consequences from China's standpoint."

"And it certainly would have a very damaging impact on our relationship with China," Bacon added. (by Nelson Chung)