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- China summoned a US Embassy official on Monday to protest
at Washington's plan to sell $550 million worth of military aircraft and
other weapons to Taiwan, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
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- The warning came on the same day that China tested a
new type of long-range ground-to-ground missile.
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- China lodged a "strong protest" over the arms
sales, which include two E-2T Hawkeye surveillance planes and parts and
equipment for F-16 fighter planes.
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- The deal was announced last week by the Pentagon but
it is subject to final approval by the Clinton administration.
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- "The proposed sale of this equipment will not affect
the basic military balance in the region," the Pentagon said in a
statement.
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- But Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Jiechi Yang called
on Washington to cancel the deal, saying it would "further intensify
tensions across the Taiwan Strait and cause severe damage to Sino-US relations".
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- He urged the US to "take practical steps to correct
this mistake".
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- Missile test
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- Xinhua reported that the test was completed successfully,
but gave no further details.
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- In May a US congressional report said that China was
expected to test its Dong Feng-31 (East Wind) missile.
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- The missile is thought to have a range of 8,000 km (5,000
miles) and is capable of carrying a single 700 kg (1,500 lb) nuclear warhead.
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- Further tests are expected before the missile enters
service, possibly in 2000.
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- The Taiwan defence ministry said it had no information
on the latest test.
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- Only hours before the test announcement Hong Kong newspapers
had reported that Chinese troops in Fujian province facing Taiwan had been
put on heightened alert.
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- Policy change
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- Tension has been high between China and Taiwan since
Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui stated last month that relations between
the two countries should be conducted on a "state-to-state" basis.
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- China considers Taiwan a province of China and has reacted
with anger to the the Taiwanese leader's comments.
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- Three years ago, Washington sent two aircraft carrier
groups to the Taiwan Straits in an effort to keep a lid on rising tensions
between the two sides following Taiwan's first democratic presidential
elections.
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- During that bout of tension, just before presidential
elections in Taiwan, China test-fired missiles as part of military exercises
in the straits.
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