A joint naval exercise between France and the PLA Navy only days before the Taiwanese election made front-page news on the mainland, but French officials remained tight-lipped about the event yesterday.
The drill on Tuesday, which involved two ships from each side and included a range of manoeuvres and helicopter exercises, was hailed by the mainland media as the most comprehensive joint naval exercise the People's Liberation Army has been involved in.
But officials at the French embassy in Beijing refused to comment on it, and calls to the Foreign Ministry in Paris went unanswered.
Chen Shui-bian criticised the drill, which only lasted a few hours. He said France was 'evil-hearted' and trying to influence the election's outcome.
'France is a problematic country,' he said, according to a report in the Taipei Times and other local media. 'In order to sell arms to China, France took the lead among European Union countries to push for the lifting of the arms embargo on China,' he said, adding French President Jacques Chirac 'was willing to be used by China'.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry also criticised the drills, saying it was 'military intimidation' designed to influence the result of the election and accompanying referendum. 'We don't understand these French moves, and we express our deep regret about them,' it said.
