Although he toned down his rhetoric during the election campaign, Chen has for many years championed the idea of holding a plebiscite on Taiwan's status. Even those in Taiwan who favor unification generally add important preconditions, such as mainland democratization, that are unlikely to happen soon, if ever. Moreover, apart from his stance on a plebiscite, Chen is an unknown quantity to Beijing, whereas Lee had been president since January 1988 and vice-president for some years before that. Hence, the Chinese leaders are much more apprehensive about the new president and his likely course of action. Adding to the tension is the marked growth in Beijing's military capabilities since 1995-96.
China has new surveillance planes.
In late April, the Hong Kong press reported that eight Shaanxi Y-8s are being converted to maritime patrol. Among other benefits, they will greatly enhance the range of the Chinese navy's missiles. China will buy one or more Phalcon airborne radar systems from Israel, despite objections from Washington. The Moskits are reportedly designed to carry a nuclear warhead equal to 120,000 tons of TNT, which would make them six times as powerful as the atomic bomb used against Hiroshima. American military sources have stated that the Moskit is possibly the most lethal anti-ship missile in the world and that the U.S. Navy has nothing that can stop it.