War Games in Taiwan Precede Arms Sales Talks

Taiwanese attack helicopters, missile boats and tanks pounded targets during war games Friday, days before Washington decides whether it will sell the island advanced weapons.

Holding the live-fire drills so close to U.S.-Taiwan arms sales talks--scheduled to begin Tuesday in Washington--risked adding more tension to America’s fragile relationship with China. Ties have already been strained by the April 1 collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea.

China considers Taiwan a renegade province and complains that U.S. arms sales to the island frustrate Beijing’s goal of eventual unification. In a fierce diplomatic offensive, Chinese leaders have warned that weapons sales would severely damage Sino-U.S. relations.

But Taiwan argues that it needs defensive weapons to keep China from using its massive military to force the island to rejoin the mainland. The Taiwanese have been resisting Beijing’s rule since 1949, when the Communists won China’s civil war and drove Nationalist forces to the island.

A Taiwanese military spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Friday’s mock battle in Pingtung County, in the southwest, was planned far in advance. He also noted that the drill was purely defensive--an exercise in repelling an amphibious invasion.