China offers to open talks on military issues with Taiwan

New Delhi, Oct 14 (ANI): China has offered to open talks on military issues with Taiwan in due course.

"We advocate conducting contacts and exchanges on military issues, including the cross-Straits military deployment issue, in a proper way at a proper time," said Yang Yi, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

He told reporters that Beijing wanted to "probe establishing a cross-Straits military security mutual trust mechanism to help stabilize the situation in the Taiwan Straits and ease military security concerns."

Yang made the offer after Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou on Sunday called on the mainland to remove its military deployment against the island, the China Daily reports.

In response to Yang's remarks, Taiwan premier Wu Denyih told the legislature that the time is not yet right to discuss disarmament because the two sides need to develop more trust.

"I'm afraid the time is not ripe," Wu said, according to a report from the Taipei-based Central News Agency.

With elections approaching on the island this year and in 2012, Taiwan officials may be reluctant to rush into talks with the mainland and risk raising suspicion among voters nervous about the mainland. (ANI)