"If the two sides sign ECFA but the other side still targets Taiwan with more than 1,000 missiles, it would be a very imbalanced picture," Ma said in an interview with the state-funded Central News Agency.
Ma was referring to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) which his government hopes to conclude as early as June, saying it will boost growth and employment.
He said the pact would increase the pressure on Beijing from not only Taiwan but also the international community to remove the missiles.
Ma is confused. One, the issue is not "removing" the missiles. Only destruction of the missiles eliminates the threat. Stay with me: if the missiles can be moved out of range, they can be moved back into range right before an invasion.
Two, a partial withdrawal of missiles will not even inconvenience China if the missiles Peking leaves within range of Taiwan are all they need to start the war, and the missiles that must be moved back into range aren't needed until well after the missiles that stayed in range are used up.
Moving the missiles will just allow Taiwanese to believe they've reduced the threat from China and justify lower defense expenditures and readiness levels. Hope is not a missile defense system.
