China army says it’s not expansionist, warns Taiwan

By Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING (Reuters) – China, whose military buildup alarms
the Pentagon, marked Army Day on Monday with a pledge never to
engage in expansionism but warned self-ruled Taiwan against
formally declaring statehood.

The U.S. Department of Defense said in a report in July it
was concerned about China’s military modernization and economic
might and feared that a changing balance of power in Asia could
threaten democratic Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

Making no reference to the report, General Cao Gangchuan,
the defense minister, insisted that China was a peace-loving
nation but warned Taiwan it would never be allowed to formally
secede, said the People’s Daily, the Communist Party
mouthpiece.

“China will resolutely pursue an independent foreign policy
of peace and a defensive national defense policy,” Cao told a
gathering at the Great Hall of the People on Sunday, the eve of
the 78th founding anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army.

“We will never engage in expansionism or seek hegemony and
will resolutely walk the path of peace and development,” said
Cao, who is a vice-chairman of the decision-making Central
Military Commission, which commands the PLA.

Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since their
split at the end of China’s civil war in 1949. It has vowed to
attack the island if it formally declares independence.

Cao toed the new line set by Communist Party and military
chief Hu Jintao to show “the utmost sincerity and exert the
greatest effort to seek peaceful unification” with Taiwan.

“(But) we will never allow ‘Taiwan independence’ splittist
forces to cut off Taiwan from the motherland under any name or
in any form,” Cao said.

The PLA menaced Taiwan with war games and missile tests in
1995-96 ahead of the island’s first presidential elections.

Political tensions continued to simmer until a mainland
visit in April this year by the chairman of the Nationalist
Kuomintang, the party which once ruled all of China but fled in
1949.

China, a nuclear power, has far more jet fighters, warships
and submarines than Taiwan. But Western expert say Taiwan,
armed to the teeth with U.S. and French jet fighters and
frigates, could give China a bloody nose in any conventional
conflict.

The United States has pledged to help Taiwan defend itself
against any Chinese invasion.

LOYALTIES SPLIT

Hu, 62, took formal control of the military from Jiang
Zemin, 78, last September, completing China’s first smooth
generational leadership change since the Communists took power.

But military sources say Hu, who had earlier replaced Jiang
as Communist Party chief and state president, has yet to fully
consolidate power in the 2.5-million-strong PLA.

Jiang promoted 79 men to full general rank during his 15
years in power, and clearly still wields some influence.
Sources say PLA loyalties are split between Hu and Jiang.

In a sign of Jiang’s residual influence, Cao paid tribute
to Jiang’s “Three Represents” political doctrine, which cracked
open the party’s doors to wealthy entrepreneurs.

Cao also pledged to carry out Jiang’s precepts on national
defense building, before stressing that the PLA would also
seriously implement Hu’s directives.

In Communist protocol, the names of leaders are mentioned
in order of importance.

In a front-page editorial, the Liberation Army Daily urged
the PLA on Monday to “obey and follow the party at all times
and under any circumstances.”

Hostile forces were out to “Westernise” and “divide” China
and change the nature of the PLA by calling for
depoliticisation, the editorial said without elaborating.