U.S. opposes Taiwan missiles aimed at China: diplomat

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States opposes Taiwan's development of missiles that could hit targets in mainland China, the de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan said on Thursday.

Washington supports Taiwan's efforts to counter an arms build-up in China over the past decade, but believes offensive weapons in China or Taiwan threaten overall security, said Stephen Young, director of the American Institute in Taiwan.

"Offensive missiles, they come in a variety of manners, of course surface-to-surface is one of them," Young told a press conference. "The U.S. view is that the focus should be on defensive weapons, not on offensive weapons."

President George W. Bush's special assistant Dennis Wilder said in Washington last week that offensive weaponry in China or Taiwan -- enemies since they split after civil war in 1949 -- would be "destabilizing".

China still regards self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and sometimes threatens to attack it. Taipei says Beijing has aimed 988 missiles at the island, which lies 160 km (99 miles) off the Chinese coast.

Taiwan last month said for the first time it would fire missiles at Chinese airfields and missile launch sites if China attacked. Previous plans were mostly defensive.

During an exercise in mid-April, Taiwan used computers to simulate attack scenarios in 2012, firing ground-based missiles at enemy airfields, missile launch sites and communication facilities.

Young also repeated statements from October 2006 urging the Taiwan parliament to approve an $18 billion package for advanced U.S. defensive weapons to counter the perceived China threat.

But he stopped short of blaming Taiwan opposition parties for the impasse, possibly averting the sort of outcry that followed his October remarks.

"Collective responsibility should be at work here, given the stakes involved," Young said.

President Chen Shui-bian's administration wants the arms package, but opposition parties have expressed concerns about the price and their necessity.

The People First Party, which openly disputed Young's comments in October, supports additional arms spending in principle but wants more specifics from the ruling party.

"This is Taiwan's domestic problem, unrelated to the United States or U.S.-Taiwan ties," said party legislator Chang Hsien-yao.