-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! Friday, January 28 8:16 AM SGT US links theater defenses for Taiwan to Chinese missile buildup in talks WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (AFP) - The United States warned a top Chinese general in talks here this week that a Chinese missile buildup has raised the issue of whether to supply Taiwan with theater missile defenses, a senior US defense official said Thursday. The warning came during three days of talks here with Lieutenant General Xiong Guangkai which ended Wednesday in agreement to resume US-Chinese military-to-military contacts despite strong disagreements over Taiwan and US missile defense plans. Washington has made no decision to supply Taiwan with theater missile defenses, said Walter Slocombe, the undersecretary of defense who led the US side in the talks at the Pentagon. "But we also made clear that one of the reasons why this is an issue is the buildup of Chinese missile capability, and that since we're talking about what's a sufficient defense capability, obviously the level of Chinese deployments is a relevant factor," he said. He said the Chinese were told "there are consequences" to how they deploy their military forces. "And that one of the factors in our decisions about arms sales to Taiwan is the state of the Chinese threat to Taiwan, because our statutory standard and our policy is to provide Taiwan with a sufficient defense capability, and obviously the level of Chinese deployment and the character of it is a very important factor in that," Slocombe said. Despite the disagreements, the two sides agreed to resume military-to-military contacts that were halted by Beijing after a US bomber accidentally struck the Chinese embassy in Belgrade last May, killing three people and injuring 27. US Defense Secretary William Cohen said he had accepted an invitation by Xiong to visit Beijing. He will be preceded by Admiral Dennis Blair, commander-in-chief of US forces in the Pacific. The two sides also agreed to engage in confidence building activities, including a resumption of meetings on maritime arrangements to avoid incidents at sea and discussions on how their militaries can help with humanitarian and natural disaster relief. "This is a balanced and deliberate program," Slocombe said. "It seeks to reopen contacts. These contacts are an important tool for building confidence and understanding." "I believe that General Xiong Guangkai came to re-start military-to-military contacts, and he returns to China with the sense that the United States is committed to engagement with China," said Slocombe. The official said the embassy bombing, which ignited anti-American protests in China last year, was recalled by the Chinese delegation but "was not a big issue in the discussions." But the Chinese did oppose deployment of a US National Missile Defense system, saying the 1972 US-Russian Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty should not be altered to allow it, Slocombe said. President Bill Clinton is supposed to decide in June whether to order deployment of the system, which was unsuccessfully tested earlier this month over the Pacific. On non-proliferation issues, China made the "rhetorical point" of linking its cooperation to US arms sales to Taiwan, Slocombe said. "We made clear that we attach very great importance to their strictly complying both with their legal obligations and with some political undertakings that they've made to the United States," he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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