The people of Taiwan go to the polls on March 18 in a hotly contested presidential election. Pressed on how Washington would respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, he said it would be a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern. Adding to the tensions was China's announcement Monday that it would increase military spending by 12.7 percent. Although the People's Liberation Army is at least several years from posing a formidable threat, commanders have used the runup to Taiwan's March 18 election to warn against rising separatism. The warnings are partly due to real fears and partly aimed at getting more government money, Chinese and foreign analysts said.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has vowed to retake the island by force if necessary.
Chinese leaders have grown anxious over perceived Taiwanese moves away from unification and toward formal independence. None of the three leading presidential candidates accept unification on Beijing's terms. In Taiwan, the ruling Nationalist Party's presidential candidate Monday dismissed predictions that an opposition victory in the March vote would result in a stock market crash or trigger a Chinese missile attack. Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon , The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.