China criticizes U.S. for 'brazen show of force'
From Correspondent Mike Chinoy
March 19, 1996
Web posted at: 11:30 a.m. EST (1630 GMT)BEIJING, China (CNN) -- China unleashed a new round of angry warnings Tuesday for the United States to stay out of its business with Taiwan, ordering a halt to its "brazen show of force."
"The United States must immediately stop its activities, designed to interfere in China's internal affairs and intensify the tensions in the Taiwan Strait area," said Shen Guofang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.
China is displeased over the United States' "brazen show of force," he said.
Shen issued his statements in a news conference after being asked about possible U.S. plans to send its aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, through the strait to monitor Chinese war games. Another U.S. naval group, headed by the USS Independence, is also in the region.
The United States responded by telling Beijing that high economic stakes are at risk.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said China's intimidation tactics aimed toward Taiwan may hinder the renewal of China-U.S. trade deals worth billions of dollars annually.
Secretary of Defense William Perry was more defiant.
"America has the best dammed Navy in the world, and no one should ever forget that," he said.
However, he added, "I do not believe it is going to lead to war. I believe shortly after the election, the Chinese forces conducting the exercise will return to their barracks."
War games may be intensifying
Shen's statements came on the heels of new reports that China launched its latest round of war games in the Taiwan Strait early Tuesday.
Reuters news service reported that China's army had pounded a deserted island with artillery fire in a mock battle to capture it. Residents on a nearby island controlled by the Chinese reportedly saw Chinese military personnel maneuvering in the area as well as military planes and helicopters flying overhead.
However, Taiwan's defense ministry said it detected little movement of Chinese jet fighters and warships in the area designated for Chinese military exercises.
Taiwan holds its first direct presidential election Saturday, and China has said the war games and missile tests are meant to intimidate Taiwan's 21 million residents before the elections, which it perceives as a drive for independence.
China's current missile tests are to continue through March 25. Last week, Beijing completed a separate round of week-long tests close to Taiwan.
China has said it may invade Taiwan if a foreign force such as the United States intervenes too heavily.
Catalyst: How current tensions arose
Analysts say the current tensions between China and Taiwan were prompted by a visit to Cornell University last year by Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, considered a front-runner in the presidential election.
On the surface, Lee's trip to the United States to deliver the graduation address at his alma mater seemed innocuous. But the visit convinced China, which views Taiwan as a renegade province, that Lee was going too far in his quest for international recognition.
"Lee's visit to Cornell ... was the crowning achievement of pragmatic diplomacy and of a prolonged lobbying campaign by Taiwan to reverse a long-standing U.S. policy of denying Taiwan's leader an American visa," said Su Chi, a member of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council.
David Shambaugh, with the China Quarterly, says Taiwan and Lee's administration prompted the current crisis by trying to move away from the agreement President Richard Nixon signed on a visit to China in 1972. In it, the United States acknowledged Taiwan as part of mainland China.
However, with Taiwan's economic strides over the last two decades, voters on the island have pushed for a greater international role, and possible independence.
Pressure from voters had led Lee to pursue a policy described by analysts as pragmatic diplomacy. It includes unofficial trips abroad to give Taiwan a higher profile on the world stage.
If the purpose of Lee's actions is to heighten Taiwan's international profile, he has succeeded. The results will be answered for sure within the coming days.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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