Taiwan to show off military might By Kathrin Hille in Taipei Published: October 4 2007 22:32 | Last updated: October 4 2007 22:32
Taiwan will mark its national day next week with its first military parade in 16 years in an attempt to rally patriotic sentiment ahead of tightly fought presidential elections next year. The parade on Wednesday is part of efforts by the island's ruling Democratic Progressive party and its outgoing president, Chen Shui-bian, to make a push for Taiwan's formal independence from China. But it is likely to be seen by Beijing as one of the most provocative steps so far to take the agenda forward. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has threatened war should the island formalise its de facto independence. Officials on Thursday said that troops, tanks and missiles would parade in front of the presidential palace in downtown Taipei while fighter aircraft and helicopters perform in the skies above. Attention is focused on whether Taiwan's military will use the occasion to unveil its long-range cruise missile, the Hsiungfeng II E - or Brave Wind - with which Taiwan hopes to gain the capability to strike Shanghai. Faced with a rapid expansion of China's offensive capabilities, Taiwan has decided its otherwise defensive military doctrine needs to include a counterstrike option. According to defence sources, the military has mastered problems with the long-range propulsion engine for the Hsiungfeng II E but is struggling to provide a fully capable guidance system. Andrew Yang, a military analyst based in Taipei, said Taiwan was years away from deployment but he added the weapon was likely to feature in the parade. "Since this is the last term of President Chen, he can prove that he is not a lame duck and that, under his leadership, the development of offensive weapons has happened - something no one else accomplished before," he said. The shift marks a shift in style if not substance for Mr Chen's government, which consists mainly of former dissidents who fought against the authoritarian regime that ruled Taiwan until the late 1980s. Next week's parade will take place in front of a presidential palace adorned with posters demanding "UN for Taiwan, peace forever". The government plans to hold a referendum on United Nations membership under Taiwan's own name, a move that China has blasted as "splittist" and the US has criticised as destabilising. There was no immediate reply from China, which is having a national holiday this week. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b87d2efe-72a1-11dc-b7ff-0000779fd2ac.html
