China marks Army Day with warning for Taiwan

BEIJING (Reuters) – China marked “Army Day” on Tuesday with
a warning from its defense minister that the mainland would
never tolerate Taiwan independence, but he stopped short of
directly threatening the use of force against the self-governed
island.

Cao Gangchuan also vowed that China’s military
modernization would continue, in remarks carried in the
Liberation Army Daily that were thick with political rhetoric
but lacking specifics on new arms purchases or weapons
expenditure.

“(We will) never tolerate Taiwan independence, and will
never permit Taiwan independence splittists to use any name or
method to separate Taiwan from the motherland,” Cao said at a
banquet to mark the 79th anniversary of the People’s Liberation
Army.

“We will uphold the central government’s policy direction
on the Taiwan question; with the utmost sincerity and hardest
work will push for the peaceful development of cross-Strait
relations and strive for the prospect of peaceful
reunification,” Cao said.

“At the same time, we uphold the sacred duty to defend
national sovereignty and territorial integrity and security,”
he said in language typically used by top Chinese leaders on
Taiwan.

China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as a wayward
province that must be unified with the mainland, by force if
necessary.

The two have faced off since 1949 when Nationalist forces
fled to the island after losing a civil war to the Communists.

Cao said China would push the modernization of its forces,
especially its capacity for self development of weapons.

“We must strengthen the building of weaponry, focusing on
developing advanced arms and pay attention to the proper use of
these weapons to raise the forces’ fighting strength,” he said.

The United States, obliged by its Taiwan Relations Act to
help the island defend itself, has repeatedly urged China to
explain its military build-up, worried it will alter the
balance of regional power.

China’s defense expenditure is officially projected to be
$35 billion in 2006, up almost 15 percent from the previous
year, but many foreign experts believe the real figure is
significantly higher.

In an annual defense white paper issued on Tuesday, Japan’s
defense ministry also urged China to disclose military data to
allay neighbors’ fears about Beijing’s defense build-up.

The Liberation Army Daily, decked out in red headlines for
Army Day, carried only two pictures of military hardware in the
whole edition — one of a fighter jet based on a 1950s Soviet
design, and the other of antiquated anti-aircraft guns.

The rest of the pictures were of happy soldiers chatting or
looking at revolutionary photographs and a beaming Cao on the
front page toasting foreign military attaches.