US-Taiwan radar deal angers China

Taiwan's military is losing its edge, experts say

China has denounced a proposed US sale of advanced radar equipment to Taiwan.

The Pentagon announced the planned sale on Wednesday, and said it had been agreed in principle in 1999.

But China said the US move breached its commitments to Beijing and sent the "wrong signal" to pro-independence groups in Taiwan, Reuters reported.

China has deployed hundreds of missiles across the Taiwan strait, and is worried the US radar systems could delay it gaining the upper hand.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told reporters that China has always been opposed to US arms sales to Taiwan.

"Especially under the current complicated and sensitive situation across the Taiwan Strait, we ask the United States to be faithful to what it says and abide by its promises and not send the wrong signal to Taiwan's independence (seekers)," he said.

China-Taiwan ties Military balance shifting

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened war if the island ever declared formal independence.

But the US is legally bound to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons, and the US is also worried that China's rapidly rising military budget will soon give it the military edge over the island.

Relations across the Taiwan Strait are especially tense following the 20 March re-election of President Chen Shui-bian.

Mr Chen has pledged to push ahead with plans to rewrite the island's constitution, which Beijing sees as a way to move the island closer towards formal independence.

The Pentagon said the radar deal - which could be worth up to $1.8bn - would help Taiwan detect ballistic and cruise missiles.

The Pentagon describes the equipment as ultra-high frequency long-range early warning radars.

The sale would not, the Pentagon insists, affect the basic military balance in the region.

But the BBC's Pentagon correspondent points out that US defence sales to Taiwan are always a sensitive subject. China formally protested over the last big US arms package of destroyers, submarines and aircraft three years ago.

Significantly, that package did not include the most advanced design of US destroyers, equipped with powerful radars and missiles that might eventually have formed part of an anti-missile defence system.

However, a number of US defence experts familiar with the negotiations over the latest radars say they are chiefly passive warning systems, not active defences, our correspondent says.

The experts also argue that the potential threats to Taiwan from Chinese missiles and air strikes have increased significantly in recent years.