Chronology of recent events
in U.S.-Taiwan and U.S.-China Relations
September 19, 1995 At the start of the annual UN General Assembly
session, Taiwanese in the United States hold a demonstration in front
of the UN in favor of Taiwan membership in the United Nations under
the name "Taiwan."
September 21, 1995 The UN rejects a Kuomintang-sponsored
membership-bid under the name "Republic of China on Taiwan." The bid,
sponsored by 20 mostly Caribbean, Central American, and African
countries, is defeated when the UN General Assembly's steering
committee decides without a vote not to recommend putting the item on
the agenda of the three-month session, which opened on September 19.
The decision followed a long debate, in which more than 40 countries,
including many which are not members of the 28-nation committee, took
part.
October 5, 1995 Lee Teng-hui inaugurates a large-scale military
exercise near Taiwan's southern coast in the build-up to National Day
on October 10. The Hua Hsing Exercise, in which no shot will be
fired, is scheduled to involve a review of some 60 frigates, 60
aircrafts, and 6,000 troops from the island's 500,000-strong army,
air force, and navy. The 100-minute exercise is attended by ranking
officials, foreign delegations, overseas Chinese representatives, and
the media in the Tsoying military zone near the southern city of
Kaohsiung.
October 26, 1995 The Associated Press reports that China has bought
24 more Su-27 jet fighters and more AA-10 air-to-air missiles from
Russia to bolster its military power in the South China Sea.
November 7, 1995 Sources in Beijing report that China will conduct
another military exercise off Taiwan's coast before Taiwan's December
2 legislative election.
December 19, 1995 The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and four
escort vessels sail through the Taiwan Strait. One month later, the
USS Fort McHenry makes a friendship visit to Shanghai. This
combination sends the message that the U.S. is powerful but wants to
be a friend of China.
January 24, 1996 Beijing denies the New York Times report that
Beijing has completed plans for a limited military attack on Taiwan.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman dismisses the report as "totally
groundless" and declines to comment further.
February 7, 1996 Administration officials say China secretly sold
nuclear-weapons technology to Pakistan the year before and can face
billions of dollars in sanctions under U.S. law.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang says the U.S. will
have to stop selling weapons to Taiwan before the threat of military
conflict between Beijing and Taipei can fade (Taipei is scheduled to
receive 150 F-16 jet fighters from the U.S. this year). At the same
news briefing, he asserts China's right to buy defensive weapons
(China has reportedly signed a fresh contract to buy 72 advanced
Russian Su-27 fighter planes).
February 9, 1996 China began moving about 150,000 troops to a
coastline facing Taiwan. China also reinforced its air strength with
88 warplanes to reach a total number of 226 aircraft deployed at 11
airports along 250 miles of coastline in its southeastern Fujian
Province. They also deployed four amphibious landing craft -- two in
the Fujian port of Xiamen (3.75 miles from the Taiwan-controlled
island of Kinmen) and two at Pingtan (island near Taiwan-controlled
Matsu island).
February 22, 1996 In testimony before the Senate Intelligence
Committee, CIA Director John Deutch confirms that China is continuing
to export "inappropriate" nuclear technology and missiles to Pakistan
and says the agency is watching China's menacing military movements
in Asia on a "minute-by-minute" basis. The disclosure that the CIA
believes M-11 missiles -- not just related technology -- were
transferred to Pakistan also requires sanctions to be imposed for
violating the Missile Technology Control Regime.
March 5, 1996 China's official Xinhua News Agency reports that the
People's Liberation Army will stage a new series of missile exercises
just off Taiwan's coast from March 8 to 15. Xinhua says the training
exercises will involve surface-to-surface missiles in two areas: one
site northeast of Taiwan, about 21 miles from Keelung port, the other
32 miles west of the southern port of Kaohsiung. By using two sites
250 miles apart, China apparently wants to show it can coordinate a
complex, large-scale operation and block Taiwan's ports. Foreign
ships and aircraft are advised to stay clear of the test sites.
Taiwan China
Armed Forces 376,000 2.9 million
ICBM's 0 about 17
Medium range missiles 0 about 70
Tanks 570 7,500 - 8,000
Major warships 38 50
Submarines 4 52
China's M-9 Missile: Intermediate-range, mobile-launch,
solid-propellant, ballistic missile. Range: 373 miles, Length: 33
feet. Warhead: Nuclear or conventional high explosive. Payload:
Single warhead, 1100 pounds.
China's M-11 Missile: Short-range, mobile-launch, solid-propellant,
ballistic missile. Range: 75-93 miles, Length: 33 feet. Warhead:
Nuclear or conventional high explosive. Payload: Single warhead, 2200
pounds.
March 8, 1996 First shot begins shortly after midnight. At intervals
of roughly an hour, three M-9 ballistic missiles carrying dummy
warheads splash down into target areas just 22 miles from Keelung,
the island's second busiest seaport, and 32 miles from the harbor of
Kaohsiung, the third largest container port in the world. These two
ports closest to the Chinese target zones account for 70 percent of
Taiwan's two-way trade. China also stages elaborate military
maneuvers in a 6,600-square-mile rectangle that stretches to the
mid-point of the Taiwan Strait. The area is 30 to 70 miles from
Taiwanese Islands. Beijing also says it plans to begin "live
ammunition" war games on March 12 in a 6,000-square-mile zone that
will obstruct much of the shipping and air traffic in the Taiwan
Strait.
March 11, 1996 President Clinton orders a second U.S. carrier battle
group into the area, and the Pentagon shifts a carrier already there
closer to Taiwan. The naval battle group led by the USS Independence,
stationed about 200 miles off Taiwan's shores the week before to
monitor China's ballistic missile exercises, has moved to within
about 100 miles. It remains outside the Strait of Taiwan. Secretary
of Defense William Perry says the movement of U.S. warships is "a
prudent, cautionary measure."
March 12, 1996 China launches war games southwest of Taiwan, drawing
a Taiwanese threat to strike back if the mock warfare turns into an
attack. Chinese combat planes and warships practice bombing runs and
drills off Taiwan at the start of eight days of war games. About 10
Chinese ships conduct formation drills, and about 10 warplanes
practice air cover, surveillance and bombing runs near Dongshan and
Nan Ao, on China's southeastern coast. Taiwan places its
400,000-member military on heightened alert, especially on the
islands that face the exercise area.
A steady succession of F-14 and F-18 fighter planes shoot skyward
from the USS Independence aircraft carrier (operating with a cruiser,
a destroyer, and a frigate), based at Yokosuka, Japan and now
positioned 200 miles off the east coast of Taiwan. The planes take
90-minute flights, practicing air intercepts and bombing runs.
Thirteen planes at a time are in the air, with the missions
continuing day and night. Rear Admiral James Ellis, Jr., commander of
the Independence battle group (with a crew of 6,500 and carrying 55
to 70 aircraft), says its seven ships have come to show the U.S.
commitment to peace in the region, but none is in the Strait and the
group is engaging in "normal routine operations," while also
monitoring the Chinese exercises. Although the Independence is
leaving some distance between itself and the area of the Chinese
maneuvers (about an hour's flying time), officers say the carrier is
close enough. The ship's navigator Commander Dave Wirt says they can
get to Taiwan in four hours.
March 19, 1996 The Clinton Administration approves Taiwan's request
to buy Stinger air defense missiles and other weapons, a move
officials say reflects a longstanding U.S. commitment to help Taiwan
defend itself. In addition to the Stingers, weapons of last resort
against close-in air attack, Taiwanese authorities have permission to
buy an advanced targeting and navigation system for fighter jets and
electronic warfare devices. However, Taiwan's request for submarines
is turned down.
March 22, 1996 Worldwide "Peace and Protest" candlelight vigil
organized by Taiwanese students for Peace in the Taiwan Straits and
in Protest against the Chinese missile threats.
March 31, 1996 Taiwan's Defense Minister Chiang Chung-ling confirms
reports that Taiwan will hold military exercises in its front-line
Matsu Islands in early April, on the heels of China's war games in
the Taiwan Strait.
April 2, 1996 Taiwan postpones military exercises set for April 7-10
near China. Taiwan's Defense Ministry, responding to U.S. and
domestic concerns, says the war games will be rescheduled for a June
30 start "to avoid any misunderstanding and to ease tensions" in the
region.
in U.S.-Taiwan and U.S.-China Relations
September 19, 1995 At the start of the annual UN General Assembly
session, Taiwanese in the United States hold a demonstration in front
of the UN in favor of Taiwan membership in the United Nations under
the name "Taiwan."
September 21, 1995 The UN rejects a Kuomintang-sponsored
membership-bid under the name "Republic of China on Taiwan." The bid,
sponsored by 20 mostly Caribbean, Central American, and African
countries, is defeated when the UN General Assembly's steering
committee decides without a vote not to recommend putting the item on
the agenda of the three-month session, which opened on September 19.
The decision followed a long debate, in which more than 40 countries,
including many which are not members of the 28-nation committee, took
part.
October 5, 1995 Lee Teng-hui inaugurates a large-scale military
exercise near Taiwan's southern coast in the build-up to National Day
on October 10. The Hua Hsing Exercise, in which no shot will be
fired, is scheduled to involve a review of some 60 frigates, 60
aircrafts, and 6,000 troops from the island's 500,000-strong army,
air force, and navy. The 100-minute exercise is attended by ranking
officials, foreign delegations, overseas Chinese representatives, and
the media in the Tsoying military zone near the southern city of
Kaohsiung.
October 26, 1995 The Associated Press reports that China has bought
24 more Su-27 jet fighters and more AA-10 air-to-air missiles from
Russia to bolster its military power in the South China Sea.
November 7, 1995 Sources in Beijing report that China will conduct
another military exercise off Taiwan's coast before Taiwan's December
2 legislative election.
December 19, 1995 The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and four
escort vessels sail through the Taiwan Strait. One month later, the
USS Fort McHenry makes a friendship visit to Shanghai. This
combination sends the message that the U.S. is powerful but wants to
be a friend of China.
January 24, 1996 Beijing denies the New York Times report that
Beijing has completed plans for a limited military attack on Taiwan.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman dismisses the report as "totally
groundless" and declines to comment further.
February 7, 1996 Administration officials say China secretly sold
nuclear-weapons technology to Pakistan the year before and can face
billions of dollars in sanctions under U.S. law.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang says the U.S. will
have to stop selling weapons to Taiwan before the threat of military
conflict between Beijing and Taipei can fade (Taipei is scheduled to
receive 150 F-16 jet fighters from the U.S. this year). At the same
news briefing, he asserts China's right to buy defensive weapons
(China has reportedly signed a fresh contract to buy 72 advanced
Russian Su-27 fighter planes).
February 9, 1996 China began moving about 150,000 troops to a
coastline facing Taiwan. China also reinforced its air strength with
88 warplanes to reach a total number of 226 aircraft deployed at 11
airports along 250 miles of coastline in its southeastern Fujian
Province. They also deployed four amphibious landing craft -- two in
the Fujian port of Xiamen (3.75 miles from the Taiwan-controlled
island of Kinmen) and two at Pingtan (island near Taiwan-controlled
Matsu island).
February 22, 1996 In testimony before the Senate Intelligence
Committee, CIA Director John Deutch confirms that China is continuing
to export "inappropriate" nuclear technology and missiles to Pakistan
and says the agency is watching China's menacing military movements
in Asia on a "minute-by-minute" basis. The disclosure that the CIA
believes M-11 missiles -- not just related technology -- were
transferred to Pakistan also requires sanctions to be imposed for
violating the Missile Technology Control Regime.
March 5, 1996 China's official Xinhua News Agency reports that the
People's Liberation Army will stage a new series of missile exercises
just off Taiwan's coast from March 8 to 15. Xinhua says the training
exercises will involve surface-to-surface missiles in two areas: one
site northeast of Taiwan, about 21 miles from Keelung port, the other
32 miles west of the southern port of Kaohsiung. By using two sites
250 miles apart, China apparently wants to show it can coordinate a
complex, large-scale operation and block Taiwan's ports. Foreign
ships and aircraft are advised to stay clear of the test sites.
Taiwan China
Armed Forces 376,000 2.9 million
ICBM's 0 about 17
Medium range missiles 0 about 70
Tanks 570 7,500 - 8,000
Major warships 38 50
Submarines 4 52
China's M-9 Missile: Intermediate-range, mobile-launch,
solid-propellant, ballistic missile. Range: 373 miles, Length: 33
feet. Warhead: Nuclear or conventional high explosive. Payload:
Single warhead, 1100 pounds.
China's M-11 Missile: Short-range, mobile-launch, solid-propellant,
ballistic missile. Range: 75-93 miles, Length: 33 feet. Warhead:
Nuclear or conventional high explosive. Payload: Single warhead, 2200
pounds.
March 8, 1996 First shot begins shortly after midnight. At intervals
of roughly an hour, three M-9 ballistic missiles carrying dummy
warheads splash down into target areas just 22 miles from Keelung,
the island's second busiest seaport, and 32 miles from the harbor of
Kaohsiung, the third largest container port in the world. These two
ports closest to the Chinese target zones account for 70 percent of
Taiwan's two-way trade. China also stages elaborate military
maneuvers in a 6,600-square-mile rectangle that stretches to the
mid-point of the Taiwan Strait. The area is 30 to 70 miles from
Taiwanese Islands. Beijing also says it plans to begin "live
ammunition" war games on March 12 in a 6,000-square-mile zone that
will obstruct much of the shipping and air traffic in the Taiwan
Strait.
March 11, 1996 President Clinton orders a second U.S. carrier battle
group into the area, and the Pentagon shifts a carrier already there
closer to Taiwan. The naval battle group led by the USS Independence,
stationed about 200 miles off Taiwan's shores the week before to
monitor China's ballistic missile exercises, has moved to within
about 100 miles. It remains outside the Strait of Taiwan. Secretary
of Defense William Perry says the movement of U.S. warships is "a
prudent, cautionary measure."
March 12, 1996 China launches war games southwest of Taiwan, drawing
a Taiwanese threat to strike back if the mock warfare turns into an
attack. Chinese combat planes and warships practice bombing runs and
drills off Taiwan at the start of eight days of war games. About 10
Chinese ships conduct formation drills, and about 10 warplanes
practice air cover, surveillance and bombing runs near Dongshan and
Nan Ao, on China's southeastern coast. Taiwan places its
400,000-member military on heightened alert, especially on the
islands that face the exercise area.
A steady succession of F-14 and F-18 fighter planes shoot skyward
from the USS Independence aircraft carrier (operating with a cruiser,
a destroyer, and a frigate), based at Yokosuka, Japan and now
positioned 200 miles off the east coast of Taiwan. The planes take
90-minute flights, practicing air intercepts and bombing runs.
Thirteen planes at a time are in the air, with the missions
continuing day and night. Rear Admiral James Ellis, Jr., commander of
the Independence battle group (with a crew of 6,500 and carrying 55
to 70 aircraft), says its seven ships have come to show the U.S.
commitment to peace in the region, but none is in the Strait and the
group is engaging in "normal routine operations," while also
monitoring the Chinese exercises. Although the Independence is
leaving some distance between itself and the area of the Chinese
maneuvers (about an hour's flying time), officers say the carrier is
close enough. The ship's navigator Commander Dave Wirt says they can
get to Taiwan in four hours.
March 19, 1996 The Clinton Administration approves Taiwan's request
to buy Stinger air defense missiles and other weapons, a move
officials say reflects a longstanding U.S. commitment to help Taiwan
defend itself. In addition to the Stingers, weapons of last resort
against close-in air attack, Taiwanese authorities have permission to
buy an advanced targeting and navigation system for fighter jets and
electronic warfare devices. However, Taiwan's request for submarines
is turned down.
March 22, 1996 Worldwide "Peace and Protest" candlelight vigil
organized by Taiwanese students for Peace in the Taiwan Straits and
in Protest against the Chinese missile threats.
March 31, 1996 Taiwan's Defense Minister Chiang Chung-ling confirms
reports that Taiwan will hold military exercises in its front-line
Matsu Islands in early April, on the heels of China's war games in
the Taiwan Strait.
April 2, 1996 Taiwan postpones military exercises set for April 7-10
near China. Taiwan's Defense Ministry, responding to U.S. and
domestic concerns, says the war games will be rescheduled for a June
30 start "to avoid any misunderstanding and to ease tensions" in the
region.