CHINA's war of nerves with Taiwan continued yesterday, as troops began massing on the coastline of the Taiwan Strait.
However, the French Foreign Minister, Mr Herve de Charette, insisted that a meeting with the Chinese President, Mr Jiang Zemin, had eased his fears of military conflict.
The Taiwanese authorities, too, were keen to cool fears, saying that although there was a "gradual increase" in the number of: troops along the south east coast, there was "no sign of mass troops gathering".
Mr Yin Tsung Wen, head of Taiwan's National Security, Bureau, said that this was only a "routine exercise" and should not be associated with "an attempt at invasion".
Beijing officially regards Taiwan as a "renegade province" and is angrily trying to prevent moves towards greater international recognition.
Fears of invasion have caused sharp drops on the Taiwan stock exchange in recent weeks.
In another reminder of Chinese sensitivity, China hinted that it might boycott this year's Olympic Games in Atlanta, if the Taiwanese President, Mr Lee Teng Hui, is allowed to attend. In 1994, China prevented Mr Lee from attending the Asian Games in Hiroshima.
Mr Wu Shaozu, head of the Chinese Olympic committee, said yesterday: "If something similar happens in Atlanta, things will get much worse than Hiroshima."
A "private" visit by President Lee to the US last June triggered angry threats from Beijing, which was furious at the implied recognition of Taiwan's separate identity. The US transferred recognition of "China" from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but remains committed by treaty to provide weapons of defence for Taiwan.
Analysts are divided on how seriously to treat the current crisis. Some argue that this is mere, sabre rattling, intended to frighten Taiwanese voters ahead of presidential elections next month.
Others argue that the threats might spill over into armed action, if only by accident, because, neither side can afford to back down.
Reuter reports from New York:
The UN Secretary General, Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali, has restated the UN position that, Taiwan is an integral part of China and said he hoped the problem between them could be solved peacefully.
He was responding to a questioner at a youth forum organised by CNN television who referred to press speculation that China might attack Taiwan and asked how the UN might "begin to take military action against China" since it was a permanent member of the Security Council.
Dr Boutros Ghali replied: "A resolution was adopted by the General Assembly considering Taiwan an integral part of China. So this is the official position of the United Nations, that Taiwan is an integral part of China."
He was apparently referring to a 1971 General Assembly resolution which gave the Beijing government China's UN seat, held until then by the Chinese Nationalists who withdrew to Taiwan in 1949 after their defeat by the communists in the Chinese civil war.
China last September smothered renewed efforts by Taiwan to get the General Assembly to consider granting it separate UN membership. For the third year in a row, a call for consideration of the issue failed even to get inscribed on the assembly's agenda.