Chinese military build-up "counterproductive": U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's military build-up opposite Taiwan is counterproductive and fans pro-independence tendencies on the island, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said on Thursday.

While stressing the United States' long-standing position that it does not support independence for Taiwan, Negroponte also told U.S. lawmakers Taiwan should be brought into international groups like the World Health Organization.

The No. 2 U.S. diplomat, who made a two-day trip to Beijing this month, also repeated the U.S. stance that it will "continue to sell Taiwan defensive arms to maintain the capacity to assist in Taiwan's defense if needed."

Negroponte's comments may irk China, which regards the self-ruled island as a renegade province that must accept reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Taiwan, a democratically governed island of 23 million people, has been ruled separately from China since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won a civil war on the mainland.

"We continue to express concern about the mainland's ongoing military build-up on its side of the (Taiwan) Straight," Negroponte said in written testimony submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"We view China's build-up as unnecessary and counterproductive," he added. "The anxiety it breeds on Taiwan encourages pro-independence inclinations that the mainland's missile deployment purports to deter."

On Jan 1, Taiwan's outgoing President Chen Shui-bian said China had 1,328 ballistic missiles aimed at the island, up by more than a third from a previous estimate.

He said the number of short-range ballistic missiles deployed against Taiwan had increased from 200 in 2000, when he took office, and now exceeded his most recent estimate of 988.

Negroponte said China had shown "constructive leadership" on difficult issues like curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions but criticized its efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically.

"Mainland efforts to squeeze Taiwan's diplomatic space also are counterproductive," he said. The United States does not advocate Taiwan joining international organizations that require sovereignty, but it should be able to "participate meaningfully" in international activities, Negroponte said.

"For example, Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization would give it access to vital health information about quickly spreading infectious diseases," he said. "That is in everyone's interests."

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; editing by Mohammad Zargham)