U.S. Denies China Increased Missiles

WASHINGTON — Despite Taiwan’s fears, China has not increased the number of missiles aimed at the island in five or six years, although the weapons are now more sophisticated, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Navy Capt. Michael Doubleday, a Pentagon spokesman, said the United States tracks deployment of Chinese missiles near Taiwan and has not seen any increases since an early 1990s buildup. He discounted published reports that China has recently moved missiles toward the Taiwan Strait, and he suggested that would be the finding in two upcoming Pentagon reports to Congress.