The ROC government is evaluating the possibility of establishing a cross-strait military mutual trust mechanism, according to the National Security Bureau Aug. 19.
“Although Taipei-Beijing negotiations have not broached the issue of military confidence-building measures, the bureau must be prepared for such a development,” said NSB Director-general Tsai De-sheng at a news conference in Taipei.
To date, Tsai said bureau preparations include collecting intelligence on mainland Chinese weapons that pose a serious threat to Taiwan.
Tsai admitted that the mainland has not abandoned its military threat against Taiwan, despite improving relations between the two sides and the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
“Out of 30 military drills conducted by mainland China last year, 20 had Taiwan as the target,” Tsai said. “In addition, Beijing has more than 1,400 missiles aimed across the strait.”
According to Tsai, each side’s political concerns make establishing such a mechanism the toughest issue in cross-strait negotiations.
“The reduction of mainland China’s military threat against Taiwan must be the basis of any such agreement,” he said. “Taipei insists Beijing remove its potentially most destructive military deployments.”
But Tsai said the current bottom-up interactions between Taiwan and mainland China may be the best way of minimizing military disputes between the two sides. (JSM)