WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (AFP) - The United States delivered a soft rebuke to Taiwan on Monday, telling it and China not to fuel cross-strait tension after Taiwanese Premier Yu Shyi-kun threatened massive retaliation for any Chinese attack on the island.
"We would prefer to see comments that focus on dialogue as opposed to references to the use of force or other unilateral moves," deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said when asked about Yu's weekend comments.
He said Washington opposed any action -- by either Taipei or Beijing -- that could heighten such tensions and urged both sides to resolve their dispute through dialogue and not force.
"Our position is that we oppose moves by either side that would increase tensions across the Taiwan Strait," Ereli said .
"It is our view that the issues relating to the Taiwan Strait should be solved through dialogue, and not by unilateral actions by either side."
Yu at the weekend vowed to retaliate should China launch missile attacks against the island.
"You (China) have the capability to destroy me and Taiwan should have the capability to counter. You strike me with 100 missiles and I should at least strike back with 50," Yu told a gathering of government officials.
"You strike Taipei and Kaohsiung and I shall strike Shanghai. This way Taiwan will be safe," he added.
On Monday without referring to the threat, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing warned world leaders to refrain from any action that might fan the flames of independence on Taiwan, saying it would never allow the nationalist island to break away.
"We will never tolerate Taiwan independence, nor will we allow anyone to separate Taiwan from the rest of China in whatever way," he told the annual gathering of the UN General Assembly.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 at the end of a civil war and Beijing continues to view the island as part of its territory.
Tensions have been rising between the two sides since the re-election of pro-independence Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, with Beijing renewing its longstanding vow to take the island by force should it declare formal independence.
China has strongly condemned Taiwan's plans to procure 18 billion dollars' worth of weaponry from the United States, aimed at boosting the island's defenses against a possible Chinese attack.
The United States remains the leading arms supplier to Taiwan despite its shift of diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
Washington acknowledges Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of China but is bound by law to provide weapons to help Taiwan defend itself if its security is threatened.
Bush, alongside Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the White House in December, had rebuked Chen's plan to hold a referendum on the day of presidential elections on March 20.
Chen was reelected but a referendum calling on voters to back government plans to bolster defenses against hundreds of Chinese missiles targeting the island and pushing for peace talks failed because fewer than 50 percent of eligible voters took part.
The United States had also warned Beijing about its missile build-up amid growing concerns over China's increased capacity to take pre-emptive military action with little warning.