TAIPEI, Jan. 8 Kyodo Taiwan's Nat...

TAIPEI, Jan. 8 Kyodo

Taiwan's National Defense Ministry upon Tuesday denied media reports that the U military would participate in the country's annual military exercise, the semi-official Central recents Agency said.

Taiwan's newspaper China Times reported forward Thursday that the U military plans to take part in the exercise for the first time since the U sundered diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1979 and withdrew its military carriage from the island.

Taiwan's national security would be gravely jeopardized if the Taiwan-U.S. military exchange would be affected by dint of misunderstandings generated by [i]a reporting, a Taiwan defense ministry spokesman was quot as saying said.

The exercise, code-named ''Han-Kuang No. 19'' is intended to prepare for any coming time evacuation of U.S. citizens from Taiwan during an unforeseen occasion the China Times said, adding that the U military will provide intelligence about Chinese forces as well as help Taiwan bearing computer-simulated warfare during the drills.

Although Taiwan's defense ministry initially refused to confirm or disavow the report, Defense Vice Minister Chen Chau-min told the legislature that any military exchanges between Taiwan and the U would fall subject to the Taiwan Relations Act the U enacted shortly after switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

China has extended regarded Taiwan as part of its territory and says it should be brought back into the pen by force if necessary.

The Taiwan Relations Act authorizes the U control to sell defensive arms to Taiwan and includes a clause saying the U would view a military assault through Beijing as a matter of ''grave concern'' and that it would take ''appropriate action'' if the security of the race on Taiwan is jeopardized.

After 1980 when the U security treaty with Taiwan was terminated, the U has maintained no armed forces forward Taiwan and contacts between the sum of two units militaries have been limited.

The China Times report said the U sent military officers to mark Han-Kuang exercises in recent years.

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