<US version> Taiwan Version
MOFA hopes arms not a victim in spat
US-CHINA STANDOFF: The foreign ministry says it hopes the dispute won't affect weapons sales, while other Asian countries are also keeping a close eye on developments
REUTERS AND AP
TAIPEI AND TOKYO
As countries around Asia expressed concern over the spy plane dispute between the US and China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it hopes the two can settle the row soon and not at the expense of US arms sales.
"We hope the US and China can resolve this quickly and smoothly," foreign ministry spokeswoman Chang Siao-yue (±i¤p¤ë) said, referring to US demands that China return an EP-3 surveillance aircraft and its 24 crew.
"We hope it won't impact US arms sales to us. It's two different things," she said."If ties between the US and China are bad, it's not necessarily good for us. If ties between them are good, it's not necessarily bad for us."
Chang Siao-yue, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Some analysts said the spy plane row could make it harder for US President George W. Bush to resist arguments in favor of selling Taiwan high-tech weaponry with which to defend itself against Beijing.
Eighty-two members of the US Congress have written to Bush a letter in support of the sale.
The ministry said Taiwan would not take sides in the spy plane standoff.
"This is between the US and China. We will not get involved," Chang said.
"If ties between the US and China are bad, it's not necessarily good for us," the spokeswoman said. "If ties between them are good, it's not necessarily bad for us.
"We are very concerned about peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Pacific," she said.
But so far, all has been quiet. The Ministry of National Defense said there have been no unusual Chinese military movements since the US spy plane was intercepted.
Meanwhile, now that the Bush administration has warned that the standoff over a US spy plane could damage Washington-Beijing ties, other countries in Asia were keeping a close eye on developments. With good reason: Asia is home to a long list of territorial disputes, high-stakes negotiations and a major chunk of the world economy -- and China has a hand in it all.
As North Korea's only ally, Beijing also plays a key role in efforts to coax Pyongyang out of its 50-year-old isolation.
The South China Sea, where the US EP-3 collided with a Chinese warplane, is filled with islands claimed variously by China, Vietnam and the Philippines. And companies from the US, Europe and Japan have greatly expanded their presence in China in the past decade.
Japan was especially interested in a fast solution. Tokyo hosts nearly 50,000 US troops on its soil and depends on shipping lines through the South China Sea to bring it vital Middle East oil.
In Thailand, The Nation newspaper warned in an editorial that security in the region could suffer if the standoff drags on.
But officials and analysts in the region were also insisting yesterday that the spy plane dispute had not had an impact yet -- and probably wouldn't without a major increase in tensions.
At the end of a two-day conference in Manila to discuss South China Sea territorial disputes, both Chinese and Philippine officials played down the influence of the standoff. "We will look at it as an isolated case," said Roilo Golez, Philippine national security adviser.
On the Korean peninsula, the sense of trouble was more pronounced.
Kim Sung-han, a researcher at the South's Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, said the problems could hamper Seoul's plans for four-way peace talks to include both Koreas, the US and China.
"If US-China relations worsen, it would be very hard to even build the very basic channel of communications to discuss peace," Kim said.
Regular people in the region so far seem unruffled by the trouble.
In Japan, tourist officials said travelers were not canceling trips to China or expressing safety concerns. Petroleum importers said they hadn't heard of any ships changing course to avoid the South China Sea.
Stock markets were also being watched closely for signs of volatility.
Losses on Wall Street on Tuesday were being blamed in part on the spy plane dispute, so by the time markets opened in Asia yesterday, it was difficult to tell whether slumps were due to the dispute or Wall Street.
"At best, it's not really helping, particularly in North Asian markets," said Eddie Lee, Singapore-based economist with Vickers Ballas.
"But it certainly doesn't look to me like war between the two countries. If it does, it would be very silly," he said.
taipeitimes.com
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Air force prepares to test AIM-120 practice missiles
By Brian Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
The air force has received delivery of practice versions of the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile, with which it plans to train F-16 fighter pilots in anticipation of receiving the real missile, a defense source said yesterday.
The practice AIM-120 missiles can be test-fired like real missiles, the source said.
"The only difference between these practice missiles and the real ones is that the former does not have a warhead. That's why these practice missiles are still very expensive to use," he said.
Eleven Jan (¸âµq ), the editor in chief of Defense Technology Monthly magazine, said with the arrival of the practice missiles, the delivery of the AIM-120 missiles to Taiwan should soon follow. The missiles are to be installed on F-16 fighter planes.
"The AIM-120 practice missiles have sophisticated seekers just like the real ones. They can be used to simulate the real conditions of an AIM-120 from the moment it is fired from its platform until it hits its target," Jan said.
The US announced last year that it would sell the AIM-120 to Taiwan. Its delivery is expected soon, as China has acquired a similar class of air-to-air missiles from Russia.
In related news, the air force on Tuesday successfully test-fired a Harpoon anti-ship missile from an F-16 fighter off the east coast of Taiwan, an air force official confirmed yesterday.
The test was the first time that a Harpoon missile has been successfully fired from an F-16 anywhere in the world, the official said.
The test was conducted at a top-security missile test site in Pingtung County's Chiupeng township.
The air force's general headquarters declined to comment on the matter.
Taiwan ordered a total of 58 Harpoon AGM-84A air-launched anti-ship missiles from the US in 1998 at a price of US$101 million.
The missiles were delivered to Taiwan last year in batches.
The navy has also surface-launched versions of the Harpoon missile, which it is currently deployed on the Knox-class frigates.
An air force official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that among the air-launched Harpoon missiles that the air force has received, some are the latest in Harpoon technology.
"The newest type of Harpoon can attack more than fighting ships. It can also effectively attack land targets," the official said.
"With these missiles, the F-16s can attack China's highly valuable military facilities along its southeastern coast from a significant distance," he said.
"More importantly, the seekers on these missiles have been significantly upgraded with software provided by the US," he said. |
