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MND denies report on China weapons removal 'wish list'

ROC Central News Agency

2010/08/02 20:25:55

Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) dismissed a media report Monday that said the military has begun planning a confidence-building mechanism with China and would issue a "wish list" asking China to dismantle weapons targeting Taiwan.

The ministry was referring to an article carried in the Monday edition of the Taipei-based China Times daily that said Taiwan's national security and military authorities had in late June secretly started preparatory work for forging a confidence-building mechanism with China.

Citing "authoritative government sources, " the paper said the military would not only ask China to dismantle its missiles targeting Taiwan but also ask China to remove command, control, communications and intelligence systems, warships and military aircraft targeting Taiwan.

In future negotiations, the paper said, the military will come up with a wish list detailing weaponry that Taiwan would demand China dismantle or relocate.

The MND, however, said in a press statement that the report was not true.

The ministry said that crafting a cross-Taiwan Strait confidence-building mechanism is a national issue involving national security, and that the military will strictly follow government policy guidelines that prioritize economic topics over political issues, urgent trouble over less hasty issues, and easy problems over difficult topics.

The military will coordinate with the government in promoting cross-strait exchanges, the statement added.

Lawmakers were divided over the newspaper report. Shuai Hua-ming, a ruling Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker who used to be a senior army officer, questioned the credibility of the report.

"I do not think that the military would prepare such a wish list because Taiwan has no clout to force China to accept such demands, " Shuai said.

As to when Taiwan and China would start political talks after signing a landmark economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) last month, Shuai said he believes such talks would not begin any time soon.

"Taiwan would be willing to address cross-strait political issues only after the ECFA generates substantial economic benefits, " Shuai said.

Another KMT lawmaker, Lin Yu-fang, said the "wish list" overture was an MND response to China's recent proposal that issues concerning the removal of missiles targeting Taiwan can be discussed under the "one China" precondition.

"The MND has conventionally been cool toward China's missile removal overture because such proposals are empty talk given the fact that missiles are highly mobile and could simply be redeployed very quickly at any time," Lin said.

By floating a "wish list" proposal, Lin said, the MND was tossing a hot potato back to China.

Legislator Ker Chien-ming of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party said Taiwan does not need to respond to China's missile withdrawal overture because Taiwan should never come into cross-strait talks under Beijing's "one China" principle. (By Hsieh Chia-chen, Su Lung-chi and Sofia Wu) enditem/bc