U.S., China Show Colors in Waters Near Taiwan

The United States and China settled into a war of nerves today as U.S. warships patrolled Asian waters in anticipation of the scheduled start of Chinese military exercises near Taiwan.

Defense Secretary William J. Perry insisted that a U.S. decision late Sunday to dispatch a second carrier battle group to the region was only “precautionary,” saying that Washington does not believe China actually will try to attack Taiwan.

U.S. officials said Monday night that they still had no indication if China had begun the live-ammunition amphibious exercises off the Chinese coast. Beijing had said the maneuvers could get underway as early as 8 a.m. PST on Monday.

The guided missile cruiser Bunker Hill, which has sophisticated radar gear, is on station in the South China Sea with orders to track any Chinese military movements. Pentagon officials said they expect the exercises to begin sometime today.

Late Sunday evening, President Clinton ordered the aircraft carrier Nimitz and six other warships that had been on patrol in the Persian Gulf to join the aircraft carrier Independence, which is in the East China Sea. The Nimitz group is expected to arrive late next week.

China’s deputy foreign minister, Liu Huaqiu, assured a group of senators here Monday that Beijing does not “want any trouble” in the Taiwan Strait, but he gave no indication of whether the Chinese had begun their live-fire exercises in the face of U.S. warnings.

Liu and other senior Chinese officials have met several times with top Clinton administration policymakers in recent days, and both sides have vented their feelings repeatedly, apparently without any agreement on a compromise.

Unless China backs off, analysts say, the stage appears to be set for a military face-down. U.S. officials say Beijing is trying to intimidate Taiwan before its first direct presidential election March 23, hoping to discourage the pro-democracy movement by raising voters’ fears that any drive for formal independent status could lead to war with China.

Beijing maintains that the island is part of its territory.

The tit-for-tat escalation between Washington and Beijing has prompted a surge of anti-Beijing rhetoric in Congress, from a call for the United States to supply Taiwan with more defensive weapons to a demand that Washington deny special trade benefits to China.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said Monday that he believes the administration’s proposal to extend China’s special trade status will be “a lot tougher to sell” on Capitol Hill because of the confrontation.

Both Daschle and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), who was out on the presidential campaign trail, supported Clinton’s decision to dispatch another carrier group to the area. “The Chinese should understand that we have a strong relationship with Taiwan,” Dole said.

Meanwhile, administration officials disclosed that one of the three missiles that China test-fired in the region Friday technically violated Taiwan’s territorial waters but was flying above Earth’s atmosphere when it did so and so did not pose a threat to the island.

Clinton’s decision to send a second carrier battle group--announced by the Pentagon on Monday--was designed to show that Washington is serious about its warnings to Beijing that the United States will not tolerate any military harassment of Taiwan.

China frequently holds exercises of this sort, but military officials say this is the closest it has come to Taiwan. The rectangle of ocean designated for the exercises lies uncomfortably close to the Taiwanese islands of Quemoy and the Pescadores.

Besides the Nimitz, the second battle group is made up of a cruiser, two destroyers, a frigate, a nuclear attack submarine and two replenishment ships.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen warned the United States on Monday against intervening in Beijing’s escalating dispute with Taiwan, and he blamed the island’s Nationalist Party leadership for the increased tensions.

“It is ridiculous for some people . . . to call openly for interference by the [U.S.] . . . or even for protecting Taiwan,” he told a news conference in Beijing. “These people must have forgotten that Taiwan is a part of China and not a protectorate of the United States.”

Pentagon officials said that neither the exercises being conducted by China nor the ship deployments announced by the United States amount to much militarily but that both represent serious political statements.

Perry, on a goodwill trip to Latin America, told reporters traveling with him that the administration does not expect China to attack Taiwan any time soon. Rather, he said, “We are increasing our naval presence in that region as a . . . precautionary measure.”

State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said officials on both sides are trying to arrange a meeting between Qian and Secretary of State Warren Christopher but so far have not been able to find a suitable time for it.

Christopher is scheduled to leave today to attend a conference on terrorism in Egypt with the president.

Times staff writer Edwin Chen contributed to this report.

* EXODUS TO SOUTHLAND: Taiwanese book U.S. flights and transfer funds here. D1