Pentagon: China fires another missile
Live-fire exercises under way in Taiwan Strait
March 12, 1996
Web posted at: 6:40 p.m. EST (2340 GMT)CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pentagon sources said Wednesday that China had fired a fourth missile in the Taiwan Strait as part of its sea and air live-fire exercises.
Sources say the missile landed in the South China Sea between 5 and 6 p.m. EST. The type of missile was believed to be an M-9.
On Friday, China launched three M-9 intermediate-range missiles.
Chinese warships and at least 10 planes took part in the military exercise, which began around noon Tuesday local time, according to the Taiwan Defense Ministry.
The large-scale military exercise was to involve air-to-air, air-to-sea, sea-to-air and sea-to-sea missile and cannon firings as well as anti-submarine practice. The exercise remained within its designated area, the Taiwan Defense Ministry said.
Tuesday's war games by China complement missile tests near vital Taiwan ports that began last Friday and are due to end on March 15. The war games are scheduled to end March 20, three days before Taiwan's first direct presidential election.
China staged the exercise despite the presence of one of the largest U.S. armadas in the region since the Vietnam War.
The Chinese government declined to charge the United States with direct interference, something China has said could lead it to invade Taiwan.
"I can well recall the history of the American Civil War, the war between the North and the South," said Shen Guofang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman. "At the time, the Americans were also against outside interference."
The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Independence is currently in the region, and the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz is to arrive next week from the Arabian Sea in what U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord said was a move to "reassure our friends in the area that we have a big stake in the stability and peace of that region."
Taiwan prepares for war games
Some Taiwan residents fear China's activities are more than an exercise -- that they are, in fact, a rehearsal for China aggression.
For the past few days on islands between Taiwan and the mainland, the Taiwanese military has stepped up its defense. Troops have stockpiled ammunition and outposts along the coastline are now manned with soldiers monitoring Chinese movements. (341K QuickTime movie)
There is good reason for the Taiwanese military to be nervous. China has said its military maneuvers are intended to pressure Taiwan into giving up its attempts to break out of its diplomatic isolation, which Beijing sees as the start of a drive for independence. Furthermore, China has massed more than 150,000 troops, a flotilla of ships and at least 300 airplanes in the region.
"Our best hope is that this will not turn into an accident which may lead to real conflict between mainland China and Taiwan. That will be a tragedy," said Jason Hu, a Taiwanese government spokesman.
China's foreign minister offered to call off the war games Monday if Taiwan agreed to withdraw its request for a seat in the United Nations, a concession, Hu said, Taiwan is not ready to make. (171K AIFF sound or 171K WAV sound)
Hu said giving in to China's demands now could hurt Taiwan in the long run: "What if they hold another war game and ask for something else, are we going to give in again?"
In related news:
On Tuesday morning, the head of Taiwan's opposition Democratic Progressive Party and several other party members protested China's action directly by boarding a small chartered boat and heading to Chinese missile impact zones. (451K QuickTime movie)
Most stock markets in the region rebounded after suffering sharp losses on Monday.
Britain, in a Foreign Office statement, Tuesday expressed concern about the growing tension, said there is "no excuse for military threats or any action which only serves to aggravate the situation," and backed what it called "sensible precautions" by the United States.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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