China steps up pressure on Taiwan with military drills
March 9, 1996
Web posted at: 12:00 p.m. EST (1700 GMT)Beijing Bureau Chief Andrea Koppel and Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- In a move that is sure to be seen as an escalation of efforts to intimidate Taiwan, the Chinese government announced Saturday plans to begin military exercises with live ammunition next week in waters of the southwestern coast of Taiwan.
At their closest point, the live-fire drills that are scheduled to start Tuesday will be just 33 miles from the Taiwan-held Pescadore islands. The Chinese say they'll last until March 20.
For the sake of safety, other countries have been asked to notify ships and aircraft not to enter the designated sea area and airspace during the tests.
The announcement came just a day after China test-fired three apparently unarmed ballistic missiles off Taiwan's coast. They landed near two Taiwanese ports.
The joint naval and air force exercises could be more dangerous than the missile tests because the government said live ammunition will be used.
State-run Chinese television broadcast a map on the Saturday evening news showing the area of the military exercises. It appeared to cover the southern entrance of the Taiwan strait and include an area southwest of Taiwan's port of Kaohshiung, where ground-to-ground missiles landed on Friday.
Large military maneuvers have been anticipated for several weeks. Intelligence reports from Taiwan and elsewhere have reported the buildup of as many as 150,000 Chinese People's Liberation Army troops in southeastern China, the area that faces Taiwan.
Taiwan's 400,000-member military has been on full alert since China announced the missile testing.
Maneuvers tied to elections
China's military exercises are to end just three days before voters in Taiwan go to the polls.
Bejing views the national elections as a further move toward independence by an island it sees as renegade province. Taiwan denies it is seeking full independence but rejects Chinese efforts to infringe on its democratic system or relations with the international community.
In an interview with CNN earlier this week, a Chinese government official indicated China's military activities are meant to send a strong warning to Taiwan president Lee Teng-hui and his supporters. China believes Lee, who is the front-runner in the election, favors independence.
Lee said Saturday that China's plan to hold war games near the island will not interfere with the March 23 election.
"I want to emphasize that force and threats will not obstruct our pursuit of democracy, freedom and dignity," Lee said in a televised address.
The latest maneuvers have sent jitters through Taiwan's stock market and threaten to damage the island's economy. China Trade Minister Wu Yi Saturday blamed the economic repercussions of military tests and exercises on Lee, not China.
U.S. eyes military moves
The United States, which has expressed outrage over the missile tests, is watching China closely.
For now, the U.S. military is keeping a low profile, monitoring the missile tests with Air Force surveillance planes and Navy cruisers and destroyers.
Using sophisticated radar on the Aegis Cruiser USS Bunker Hill, which is cruising just south of Taiwan, the U.S. Navy tracked the Chinese missiles as they landed close to two of Taiwan's key seaports.
"The danger is that if the firing had any malfunctions at all, that some parts of the missile could have landed on populated areas," said U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry. (111K AIFF sound or 111K WAV sound)
Pentagon sources say the United States is considering a stronger signal: sending some warships through the Taiwan strait. But no decision will be made until China ends its present round of exercises.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Relates stories
- Nations condemn Chinese missile tests
- Taiwan says China fired 3 missiles
- China admits Taiwan intimidation
- Background: Taiwan a refuge for mainland dissidents
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