 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
US Calls Taiwanese Missiles Destabilizing, Offers Its Own Instead
Hong Kong (RIA Novosti) May 08, 2007 The U.S. is trying to discourage Taiwan from acquiring missile technology capable of threatening mainland China, the Taiwanese media said Friday. Stephen Young, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto U.S. representative office on the breakaway island, said the U.S. has urged Taiwan to acquire defensive, not offensive, weapons, fearing that this would encourage mainland China to invade Taiwan. Young's claim that a medium-range Taiwanese missile would be a "destabilizing factor" comes after the Republic of China's Defense Minister Lee Jye claimed Taiwan was developing its own missiles with a range beyond the width of the Taiwan Straight (maximum 180 km) that separates it from mainland China. Young also expressed U.S. frustration at the fact that the Taiwanese parliament has been obstructing an $18 billion purchase of U.S. weapons for the sixth year in a row, the opposition complaining that the some of the proposed weapons were inappropriate and over priced. Since 1949, the Taiwan-based democratic Republic of China has claimed independence from the communist mainland, supported by security guarantees from, though not formal diplomatic relations with, the U.S. The People's Republic of China officially considers Taiwan its province and has warned that it would use force if Taiwan were to formally proclaim independence. Of the little that is known about Taiwan's missile capabilities, it is certain that currently Taiwan operates only anti-ship missiles. It is believed it also has its own unsophisticated 120-km surface-to-surface missiles. The development of longer-range missiles in the 1990s was dropped for technical reasons.
Source: Agence France-Presse Email This Article
Related Links 
Santa Clara (AFP) May 03, 2007With a blend of dark humor and dire predictions, former US vice president Al Gore called on Chinese technology entrepreneurs to champion the environment in their prospering homeland. Gore, who won an Academy Award for his global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," made the plea at a Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association's conference in the California city of Santa Clara on Wednesday. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
