Beijing ups the ante in war of words with Taipei

The Chinese president, Hu Jintao, has told the People's Liberation Army to prepare for war amid growing fears of a destabilising missile race across the Taiwan Strait.

Just days after rival leaders in Taipei threatened to target Shanghai to achieve a "balance of terror", Mr Hu used his first speech as commander in chief to demonstrate that he was as ready to use force as his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, to prevent the island from declaring independence.

"You must seize the moment and do a good job of preparing for a military struggle," the president told the 2.5 million strong PLA, according to comments carried in the People's Daily yesterday.

Although he did not mention the name of a likely enemy, no one doubted that he was referring to Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province. Tensions between the two sides have hit a new pitch in recent days as Taiwanese leaders play up fears of a missile barrage to push through a controversial arms budget.

Taiwan's president, Chen Sui-bian, warned that the PLA had 610 missiles pointed at the island, up from 496 in December. With the number continuing to increase sharply, he forecast China would have 800 ballistic weapons in place by 2006 - enough for a sustained 10-hour barrage that could wipe out most of Taiwan's defences before its ally, the United States, could respond.

To deter such an attack, the Taiwanese prime minister, Yu Shyi-kun, called for the development of an offensive missile system. "You fire 100 missiles at me, I fire 50 at you. You hit Taipei and Kaohsiung. I at least hit Shanghai," he said, mentioning Taiwan's two biggest cities and the mainland's financial capital. "If we have such counter-strike capability today, Taiwan is safe."

Until now Taiwan has - at least in public - focused on defence rather than deterrence. This is the preferred policy of the US, which does not want to get dragged into a conflict in east Asia.

So the first mention of a retaliatory strike by such a senior figure sparked outrage in Beijing. "Yu Shyi-kun's remarks are a serious provocation and clamouring for war," said Li Weiyi, spokesman for the Taiwan affairs office.

The Taiwan defence ministry has since tried to douse the incendiary comments, saying the island had no policy to maintain a "balance of terror". But the furore is unlikely to die down quickly.

The Taiwanese government has stoked the rhetoric to try to push through an $18bn (£10bn) budget to buy arms from the US. President Chen says the submarines, Patriot anti-missile systems and submarine-hunting aircraft are essential to meet the growing menace of China.

But the spending package - the biggest US weapons deal in a decade - has prompted protests in Taipei from critics who say it will spark an arms race, choke the country's economy and divert resources from healthcare and social security. Surveys indicate that half of the 23 million population oppose the outlay.

On both sides of the strait, concerns are growing of a confrontation before 2008, when Mr Chen has promised to revise Taiwan's constitution - a move seen in Beijing as tantamount to a declaration of independence.

China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, said Beijing would firmly oppose separatist forces in Taiwan. "The sacred goal of complete national reunification must be achieved. It shall be achieved in the end," he said in a speech to mark the 55th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic.

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