At long last, a mainland official has spoken publicly about the missiles along the coast facing Taiwan and has acknowledged the island's desire to be rid of them. Despite the great improvement in cross-strait relations since Ma Ying-jeou became president more than two years ago, the mainland has continued to build up its missiles in Fujian province, across from Taiwan.
In late 2007, when the virulently pro-independence Chen Shui-bian was president, the Pentagon estimated that Beijing had deployed about 1,000 short-range missiles opposite Taiwan and was increasing the number by more than 100 missiles a year.
Instead of ceasing such deployments after Ma's inauguration, the mainland appears to have accelerated the build-up. Military experts now say the People's Liberation Army has over 1,600 missiles targeting Taiwan.
Senior Colonel Geng Yansheng , the new spokesman for the Chinese military, said last week that 'issues relating to cross-strait military deployments' could be included in future talks on confidence-building measures as long as Taiwan accepted the 'one China' principle.
Taiwan's defence ministry responded by saying: 'We would like to see China remove the missiles on its own initiative and let the Taiwan people feel Beijing's goodwill.' Quite right.
While Colonel Geng did not go into detail, it is evident that Beijing wants to engage Taiwan in talks before dismantling its missiles. This is akin to a gunman who has a weapon pointed at another man's head saying that the two can negotiate over terms for the removal of the gun. It is blackmail, plain and simple.
If Beijing really wants to win the hearts and minds of its 'compatriots' in Taiwan, it does not need to negotiate. Their permission was not sought before the missiles were installed so there is no need to get them to agree to terms before their removal.