Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

TAIWAN WINS INT'L SUPPORT IN DISPUTE WITH CHINA: FOREIGN MINISTRY

ROC Central News Agency

2005-03-15 23:31:19

    Taipei, March 15 (CNA) Taiwan has successfully exposed Beijing's threat against regional security and is winning increasing support from major powers in its dispute with Beijing, according to a report presented to the Legislative Yuan by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday.

    Bracing for Beijing's enactment of its Anti-Secession Law, the ministry said in its report that it sent out delegations to the United States, Japan and European Union member states in January to brief them of Taiwan's opinion that the proposed law is "undesirable, unnecessary, unconstructive and stupid."

    These delegations also reiterated Taiwan's stance on its disputes with Beijing, namely that it should be settled peacefully through dialogue and that neither side should alter the status quo in terms of their relationship to each other.

    The efforts paid off, the report said, citing White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan as saying March 9 that Beijing's legislation of the Anti-Secession Law runs counter to the recent trends toward a warming in cross-strait relations, and urging Beijing to reconsider passage of the law.

    The European Union also believes that the Taiwan issue should be solved peacefully through dialogue between Taiwan and China, and that neither side should take action that could increase the tension between them, according to the report.

    Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura told Beijing Feb. 23 about his country's strong desire for a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue and about Japan's great concerns about the negative impact of Beijing's law.

    Taiwan's security also become a cause for concern of the United States and Japan, with a joint statement Feb. 19 saying that the Taiwan Strait is one of their common strategic objectives, the report said.

    Beijing's military buildup is also being questioned, said the report, citing the Japanese government's latest Outline for National Defense Plan, which says China's military modernization and its increasing naval presence deserve Japanese notice.

    Also, the report said, Porter J. Goss, director of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, told the Senate Feb. 16 that China's military modernization is tilting the military balance across the Taiwan Strait and is posing a threat to the U.S. armed forces in the region.

(By Maubo Chang)

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