Taipei, May 17 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Wednesday dismissed an Australian report that the PLA may blockade Taiwan's key port of Kaohsiung after May in order to force the new Republic of China government to open talks on reunification with the mainland.
MND spokesman Major-General Kung Fan-ding declined to comment on the report, only saying that at present there is no information on the scenario and that the Taiwanese public should not pay attention to the rumors.
Kung reassured the public that the military has been closely monitoring PLA activities and will responsibly inform the nation of any contingencies or circumstances under the condition that the national security and intelligence systems are not compromised.
The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday quoted US and Australian intelligence sources as saying that mainland China is planning to launch a blockade of Taiwan's key port of Kaohsiung, probably in September of this year, to force Taiwan to open reunification talks with Beijing.
According to the report, the blockade of Kaohsiung is being planned because the port, the island's biggest, handles 66 percent of Taiwan's trade, and the serious impact of a blockade could force Taiwan to enter into talks.
Kaohsiung is the third largest container port in the world, according to 1998 shipping figures. More than 18,000 ships were loaded with about 300 million tons of cargo in the port located on Taiwan's southwest coast facing the mainland, the daily reported.
US intelligence analysts believe Kaohsiung Port could be blockaded relatively easily because there are only two narrow channels deep enough for ships to enter and leave the harbor, the daily said.
Mainland China's submarines could ensure that cargo ships were denied access to these channels and therefore to Kaohsiung Port itself, the report added.
The daily quoted secret US intelligence forecasts shared with the Australian government as revealing that "Washington is taking the planned blockade preparations seriously as fears mount in Beijing that Taiwan is drifting steadily towards independence despite repeated Chinese threats of war."
"The Americans seem to think it is possible or even likely," the paper reported, quoting one senior Australian government official.
The report said the victory of Chen Shui-bian of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party "has increased pressure on Beijing to bring Taipei to heel."
It would be impossible for the US and its allies, including Australia, to abandon Taiwan to its fate if it came under mainland Chinese attack, the report added.
However, the report said, it is possible that a trade blockade could be mounted without an overt military threat to Taiwan.
The daily said a Pentagon study on the military balance across the Taiwan Strait last year warned that despite improvements in Taiwan's anti-submarine forces, China would "retain the capability to interdict Taiwan's sea lanes of communications and blockade the island's principal maritime ports." (By Deborah Kuo)
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