TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian called for wide-ranging peace talks with China to defuse the dangerous military build-up on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
In a National Day speech, Chen said Taiwan and China must draw up a code of conduct to prevent a military crisis in the Taiwan Strait, the 150-kilometer (95-mile) wide waterway separating the island from the Chinese mainland.
Referring to himself by his nickname A-bian, the independence-leaning president presented his speech as an olive branch to China. However he sent out mixed signals, referring China as a "dark force" and surrounding himself with the green flags of his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
"Because any conflict could cause irreparable damage to both sides, A-bian thinks the two sides should seriously consider practical steps to control arms," Chen said.
"Therefore A-bian proposes that both sides should seriously consider the issue of arms control and take concrete actions to reduce tension and military threats across the Taiwan Strait."
"Furthermore, we should review the armament policies of both sides and seek to establish a code of conduct across the Taiwan Strait as the tangible guarantor of permanent peace," he added.
Chen also said China's military threat was casting a shadow of terror over Taiwan.
"These shadows of terror and forces of darkness not only directly threaten the peaceful status quo of the Taiwan Strait, they also undermine regional stability and global security."
The last talks between the two sides were called off in 1995 after Taiwan's then president Lee Teng-hui made a landmark visit to the United States.
There was no immediate response to Chen's speech from China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory which must be brought back under its rule -- by military force if necessary.
However China views Chen with extreme scepticism and has repeatedly rebuffed his calls for talks before he first recognises its "One China Principle" accepting Chinese sovereignty over the island.
Wu Nengyuan, head of Taiwan studies at the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences in southeast China, said Chen's proposals would have little impact.
"For the mainland, the key issue remains accepting the One-China Principle. If Taiwan does not accept it, other statements have no meaning, and also no sincerity," Wu told AFP in Beijing.
Su Chi, a China policy maker for Taiwan's political opposition, also did not expect a positive response from Beijing.
"The several points he mentioned may be trivial to Beijing. What they are really concerned about is whether Chen is still on the path of independence," Su said.
Separately, Taiwan plans to de-militarise six frontline islets off the southeastern cost of rival China next year in a gesture of goodwill towards its giant neighbour, an official said Sunday.
Chen's speech comes against the background of a fierce political debate in Taiwan over a proposed 18-billion-dollar US arms package aimed at strengthening the island's defences.
China has been ramping up military spending for over a decade in an attempt to change the strategic balance in the Taiwan Strait. It already has over 600 ballistic missiles pointed at the island and is adding 60 to 70 new missiles each year.
Alarmed by China's arms build-up, Taiwan reached a deal to acquire more advanced US hardware. Washington is the leading arms supplier to Taiwan despite deciding in 1979 to recognize Beijing instead of Taipei.
Taiwan's government is seeking parliament's approval for the controversial 18-billion-dollar deal over a 15-year period from 2005. However many lawmakers say the island cannot afford the package and that the weaponry would arrive too late to prevent a Chinese attack.
Taiwan has been ruled separately from the mainland since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 when the defeated nationalist forces fled to the island and set up a rival government to the communists in Beijing.