| TAOYUAN, Taiwan - Taiwan's military on Tuesday toned down remarks about
mainland China's military, one week after warning that Chinese forces may be gearing up
for war games. Military spokesman Kung Fan-ding declined to discuss last week's reports
that Chinese bombers and warships were holding unusual maneuvers. Critics said the
military was unnecessarily alarming the public.
Kung was quoted by AP as saying Tuesday that China was holding routine maneuvers,
adding that Taiwan has not noticed any large-scale exercises or unusual concentration of
troops.
The Taiwanese ``military has a firm grasp of what the communist military is doing. When
it does not compromise our intelligence sources or national security, we will inform
citizens of the communist army's situation,'' Kung said at a news conference.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split amid civil war in 1949,
and China has repeatedly threatened to use force to reunify both sides.
Tensions are high between the two longtime rivals as Taiwan prepares to swear in a new
president on May 20.
When Taiwan held its first direct presidential election in 1996, China tested
nuclear-capable missiles near the island's two main ports, prompting the United States to
send warships to the region to calm tensions. |
