Lin Chong-pin, vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council which oversees Taipei's policy with Beijing, said the leaked US intelligence reports showed it was vital for Taiwan to take measures to defend itself.

Vice President Lien Chan (R) and Premier Vincent Siew are cheered by supporters outside the headquarters of the ruling Kuomintang after they are respectively nominated as the presidential and vice presidential candidates during the party's decision-making meeting 27 August, 1999. The pair are expected to receive an endorsement by an overwhelming majority of delegates when the party holds a congress Sunday. The presidential elections are slated for March. Photo by Leo Chang Copyright AFP

"As the Chinese communists refused to renounce the use of force ... any measure that will be helpful to the strengthening of our defense deserves serious consideration," he said.

The Washington Times reported Wednesday that US military intelligence had detected the construction of a second Chinese short-range missile base that will put all Taiwan's major military bases within striking distance.

The missile base was detected by spy satellites at Xianyou, which lies only 217 kilometers (135 miles) from Taiwan, the Times said. It is nearly complete and will house a brigade-size short-range missile force, according to the newspaper.

It joins another missile base at Yongan, 354 kilometers (220 miles) from Taiwan, whose existence was disclosed by the newspaper last month.

The discovery has sparked concern in the Pentagon that a destabilizing Chinese missile buildup will increase the risk of force being used by Beijing, and drive Taiwan to acquire offensive missiles of its own, the paper warned.

Taiwan split from mainland China in 1949 when the defeated nationalist forces fled to the island following their defeat in a civil war with the communists. Beijing regards Taiwan as a rebel province and has repeatedly refused to renounce using force to bring Taiwan back into the fold.

In his address to a military seminar Vice President Lien Chan said for the first time Wednesday that Taiwan should develop long-range ground-to-ground missiles to counter China.

Lien called for the setting up of a deterrent which could survive a blitz from China and strike back.

Lien is running for the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) in the island's second direct presidential polls in March.

Taiwan currently is armed with home-made Tien Kung ground-to-air and Hsiungfeng ship-to-ship missiles with a range of less than 300 kilometers (186 miles).

Taiwan secretely launched the "Tien Ma (Sky Horse)" missile program in the 1980s to develop ground-to-ground missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles),

Unconfirmed reports said the program was called off under pressure from Washington.

Copyright 1999 AFP. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by AFP and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

A POWERFUL DRAGON
China Prepares To Test New ICBM
Beijing (AFP) December 7, 1999 - China will imminently test the Julang 2, an intercontinental sea-to-surface ballistic missile with an estimated range at least 9,000 kilometres (5580 miles) that will boost its nuclear deterent capability, foreign military experts in Beijing said Tuesday. "The test is imminent," said an expert who asked to not be named, but added the missile, capable of hitting any city in the United States and Europe, could be equipped with a small nuclear warhead.

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