Taipei, April 26 (CNA) The possibility of war breaking out with mainland China after Taiwan President-elect Chen Shui-bian takes office on May 20 is low, Vice National Defense Minister T.Y. Sun told reporters on Wednesday.
Speaking after taking part in a public hearing at the Legislative Yuan, Sun said that since Chen has demonstrated a high degree of sincerity and goodwill toward mainland China following his election as the Republic of China's new president on March 18, it is not very possible that war will break out between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait under the current circumstances.
According to Sun, Chen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has sought to show great sincerity toward the mainland by proclaiming that he will continue to follow the steps promulgated in the Guidelines for National Unification, and that the goal of Taiwan independence in the DPP's platform will not be inserted into the Constitution.
Citing the Korean peninsula as an example, Sun said that judging from past experience, the chance of war will be "zero," even in a dangerous situation, so long as the two parties involved act with great caution.
For instance, the two Koreas have been arch-rivals since the beginning of the Korean War in 1953, but there has been no large-scale conflict since the end of that war, and the two sides are now even preparing to hold a historic summit this summer, he noted.
The vice national defense minister analyzed, however, that war could have raged at any time should either side have failed to estimate the situation correctly.
Turning to reports that US aircraft carriers are conducting military exercises in waters off the island of Guam, Sun said he has not received any information in this regard, and added that in any case, it should be routine training for the US Seventh Fleet which does not necessarily have anything to do with the situation in the Taiwan Strait. (By Flor Wang)
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