HONG KONG — Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, in his first interview after taking on the chairmanship of the ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), again urged China to scrap missiles that stand along its coast, aimed at the island. The number of such missiles, rather than decreasing, has risen in the 1 1/2 years since Ma took office and now is believed to be close to 1,500.
"That is certainly a great concern for the people here," Ma told Reuters.
While Beijing has been willing to accommodate Taiwan in terms of economic cooperation, slightly more international space and a diplomatic truce, it has not done much to reduce military pressure. At the same time as it is increasing its military capabilities, China is also putting pressure on the United States to halt or at least reduce arms sales to Taiwan.