Taiwan president says no war with China

The Associated Press , Taipei | Tue, 10/21/2008 3:36 PM | World

Taiwan's president said Tuesday that there will be no war with rival China during his first four-year term as president.

Ma Ying-jeou's comments before agroup of high-ranking military officers came amid his five-month long effort to dampen down the deep-seated Taiwan-China tensions that developed under his pro-independence predecessor.

"We should be able to reduce the threat (from China) and turn the enemy into a friend," Ma told th Taiwanese officers. "I am going to say boldly that there will be no war ... in the next four years."

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. China continues to claim the island as part of its territory to be unified by persuasion if possible, by force if necessary.

Since his May 20 inauguration, Ma has been pushing for closer economic exchanges with the communist mainland. He has sanctioned regular flights across the 100-mile-(160-kilometer-)wide Taiwan Strait and relaxed strictures on Chinese tourism to the island.

He has also pushed for a formal peace treaty with Beijing, though without specifying what it might contain.

In his comments to the officers, Ma said that Taiwan needs a strong defense to facilitate peaceful relations with China.

"We need to adopt a 'no unification, no independence, no use of force' strategy to create a peaceful environment," he said. "The military balance (between the two sides) is a necessary condition for peace."

He also promised to provide a sufficient military budget during his term as president, but did not elaborate on how large it might be.
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