China gaining upper hand over Taiwan, US senator says

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US Senator Diane Feinstein said Sunday that only by maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and increasing cross-strait bilateral exchanges can Taiwan and China solve their differences peacefully.

Addressing the annual meeting of the Asia Society in a keynote speech entitled A Rising China, Feinstein said that China's rapidly expanding military strength and the Democratic Progressive Party's taking power in Taiwan have impacted cross-Taiwan Strait stability.

Feinstein said that China has accelerated its arms build-up in recent years, with its reported military spending rising by 16 percent over the past two years. She added that the actual figure could be three times higher. She also pointed to the some 700 Chinese missiles targeting Taiwan. Feinstein said that all this is upsetting the delicate balance that has been in place in the Taiwan Strait for decades.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2005/06/07/2003258258

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1. US uneasy with PLA buildup, report says

The US is increasingly growing uneasy with China's military buildup, with the Pentagon positioning it as one of the worst threats together with international terrorism in an annual assessment, the Sankei Shimbun reported yesterday.

In a report datelined Washington, the Japanese daily said that in its annual assessment of China's military capabilities that will be published soon, the Pentagon lists China's fast military expansion and international terrorist attacks as being on the same level under "worst threats."

According to the report, the Pentagon made the assessment based on the following arguments: China increased the number of short-range missiles aimed at Taiwan in the Nanjing military region, purchased more advanced jet fighters from Russia, deployed a larger number of fast-response troops to deal with contingencies in the Taiwan Strait, and stepped up military drills to counter US military planes and ballistic missiles.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/06/07/2003258280