Taipei, May 15 (CNA) Mainland Chinese troops will not conduct military exercises to rattle Taiwan before President-elect Chen Shui-bian's inauguration on May 20, a Hong Kong-based newspaper reported on Monday.
Citing sources familiar with the leadership in Beijing, the Ming Pao daily newspaper said Beijing has decided to honor its promise to the international community by giving Chen a grace period to "listen to his words and watch his deeds." Therefore, there will be no large-scale military maneuvers to threaten Taiwan prior to this coming Saturday, it noted.
According to the newspaper, the mainland Chinese military has been stepping up troop deployments to tackle whatever developments that may occur in the Taiwan Strait following Chen's election as Taiwan's new head of state on March 18.
Unlike the 1996 military exercises, during which 400,000 mainland Chinese troops were dispatched to the frontline coastal province of Fujian, directly opposite Taiwan, this time the mainland Chinese military has mobilized its elite swift-reaction troops and special forces from Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces to areas close to Taiwan, the newspaper reported.
The daily noted that mainland Chinese military forces have deployed advanced Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles at their bases in Fujian province, which it saw as a bid to curb any conflict in the strait, rather than simply a move to intimidate Taiwan.
Citing what it said were reliable sources, the newspaper stated that Beijing will continue to observe Chen for some time after his official inauguration. If Chen firmly refuses to recognize the "one China" principle in his inaugural speech, Beijing is likely to start large-scale military maneuvers within a period of three days, it added. (By Flor Wang)
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