Taipei - Taiwan Defence Minister Chen Chao-min said Tuesday that the military must not relax its vigilance against China despite friendly exchanges across the Taiwan Strait. "So far, the Chinese Communists have yet to express their goodwill to us, and therefore, the armed forces must not drop their combat readiness and relax their vigilance," Chen said.
He stopped short of saying what kind of goodwill his ministry needs to stop treating China as an enemy although Chinese President Hu Jintao has said Beijing is willing to hold peace talks with the island.
Relations between Taiwan and China, fierce rivals since the end of a civil war in 1949, have gradually improved since Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, took office in May.
The two sides resumed talks in June and agreed to operate regular weekend direct charter flights and tourism cooperation from July 4.
The Ma government also decided to largely relax restrictions on Taiwan investments in China and allow Chinese funds to invest in the local stock market. It has also considered building a bridge linking Taiwan's former defence outpost of Kinmen with the Chinese southern coastal city of Xiamen.
Chen was reluctant to endorse the bridge, saying national security must be paramount.
"We have to consider whether the level of cross-strait reconciliation is substantial enough for us to build that bridge," he said.
