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Chinese troops on ‘high alert’

Taiwan VP vows to stand by "statehood" claim
BEIJING, March 6: China's military turned the screw on Taiwan's voters today, warning that millions of troops were on "high alert" for an immediate strike if the island moved towards independence, reports AFP.
Less than two weeks before Taiwan's second presidential elections, the military's newspaper Liberation Army Daily also pointedly warned voter's not to back pro-Independence candidate Chen Shubbian.
In a commentary packed with hardline and threatening rhetoric, the military insisted they backed peaceful’reunification but warned that if Taiwan dragged Its feet the Island could expect war
The threats follow hard on the heels of hawkish .comments by President Jiang Zemin and the military's top general. Just the latest senior officials to have banged the drums of war in the past two weeks.
"The People's Liberation Army's millions of troops stand In combat readiness, are on high alert and will never allow and sit idly by for any attempt to split China to succeed," said the paper.
"we will adopt all measures to firmly crush any attempts to divide China and will realise the complete reunification of the motherland." It added.
The military would act If Taiwan moved towards independence, if any foreign country Invaded or If Taipei continued to stall on reunification talks, said the paper
"We must explicitly point out that Taiwanese Independence means war.” it said.
The army warned it could never allow Taiwan, which has been ruled separately for 50 years but is considered a rebel province by Beijing, to make the break permanent.
"There is no room for any compromise on this Important
matter of principle which concerns the future and fate of the Chinese nation." said the commentary.
Military experts in Beijing and abroad said China was merely sabre rattling and there were no signs the PLA was on heightened alert.
^There Is no sign the Chinese army has been put on alert. A state of alert would signify the units are ready to move within a very' short space of time, but there Is no sign of activity at the moment." said a Beijing-based Western defence expert
"For the moment it's empty blustering." added Robert Karniol. the Bangkok-based Asia Pacific editor of Jane's Defence Weekly.
For the first time during the Taiwanese election campaign, the military openly warned voters to steer clear of Chen Sliui-bian.
Meanwhile. Taiwan Vice President Lien Chan said today
he would stand by the claim by President Lee Teng-hui that Taipei and Beijing shared special state-to-state relations. If elected.
Lien, who is standing as the candidate of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) in the island's second presidential polls on March 18. also pledged to defuse cross-strait tensions.
"Lee's policy is the policy of the country. It Is not personal." Lien said In a press conference sponsored by the Taipei Foreign Correspondents Club.
Lee angered Beijing in July by saying ne wanted to conduct exchanges with Beijing on the basis of their "special state-to-state relationship" - an apparent shift in the "one-China' policy which has governed cross-Strait ties for 50 years
A furious Beijing accused Lee of backing away from the "one-China principle" set up after the two sides split In 1949 at the end of a civil war.