China should scrap missile threat

“The number continues to go up,” he told the Reuters news agency. “That is certainly a great concern for the people here.”

While Beijing has been willing to accommodate Taiwan in such areas as economic cooperation, slightly more international space and a diplomatic truce, it has not done much in terms of reducing military pressure. And while it continues to increase its military capabilities, it is also putting pressure on the United States to halt or at least reduce arms sales to Taiwan.

This is not in Taiwan's interests and, ultimately, it is not in China's interests as well. Beijing's top priority right now should be to enhance Ma's standing among the voters so as to ensure his re-election in 2012. If Ma is defeated in the next presidential election, the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party will return to power and cross-straits tensions will inevitably heighten again.

It is extremely short-sighted of Beijing to enhance military pressure on the Ma administration. China's military power is already much greater than that of Taiwan and it would be irresponsible for Ma, or any other leader, to ignore this growing imbalance.

The natural result is that Taipei will seek arms purchases from the United States to try to reduce the military imbalance between the two sides of the strait.

If Beijing wants Washington to reduce arms sales to Taiwan, it should demonstrate that there is little or no military threat from the mainland. By continuing to increase the number of missiles threatening Taiwan, Beijing is ensuring that the American government will have little choice but to make sophisticated weapons available to Taiwan.

It is true that the United States increasingly needs China's cooperation in the resolution of international and regional issues, such as climate change, the global financial crisis, Iran's quest for nuclear weapons and the North Korean nuclear issue.

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