Saturday, June 12, 2004

TAIPEI: Security experts in Taiwan have dismissed a US Pentagon report which suggested the island bomb China's Three Gorges Dam to deter a possible invasion by its political rival.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/eastasia/view/89220/1/.html

While the government did not respond to the report, Taiwan's Deputy Defence Minister Tsai Ming-shian on Wednesday urged parliament to approve a budget to boost its military might, saying it is likely Taiwan will be attacked in the next two to four years.

In a recent report, the US Defense Department warned that China was developing military tools to prevent Taiwan from achieving independence, including preventing the United States from going to the island's aid should a war break out.

The report went so far as to suggest that since Taipei cannot match Beijing's ability in field offensive systems, it could instead attack China's urban population or high-value targets, such as the Three Gorges Dam, to deter a military coercion.

But security analysts in Taiwan said such a scenario is unlikely to happen, as the risk is too high and the damage too limited.

Shuai Hua-ming, Research Fellow at Taiwan's National Policy Foundation, said: "While our F-16s are capable of carrying out attacks in the air or near the surface, they are tactical fighter jets with very limited firepower. Besides, Taiwan does not possess the capability of air refuelling, so the suggestion is not feasible at all."

Taiwan's leaders have also clarified that any weapon systems they acquire are only for defence purposes.

He said approval of the proposed defence budget was urgent as intelligence sources have indicated that China may launch small-scale attacks against Taiwan in 2006 or 2008.

While Taiwan's Ministry of Defence has kept mum on the American military report, strategists blame the Pentagon for its irresponsible suggestion that may once again serve to exacerbate relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. - CNA

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