UNITED NATIONS- Taiwan's campaign to gain United Nations membership and a referendum on the island's U.N. application pose grave dangers to Asia-Pacific security, China's foreign minister said on Friday.

Successive bids by self-ruled Taiwan for U.N. membership have failed for the past 15 years. Beijing has threatened to attack the island if it moves toward formal independence.

A referendum on whether to apply for U.N. membership under the name Taiwan is "another dangerous step toward de jure independence taken by the Chen Shui-bian authorities," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

"If unchecked, this move will gravely endanger peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the Asia-Pacific region," Yang said.

China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has vowed to bring the island's people back under mainland rule, by force if necessary.

Taiwan's two attempts last week to put its membership bid on the agenda of the U.N. General Assembly were easily blocked by China, which is recognized by more than 170 countries, compared with Taiwan's 24.

Yang told the general assembly that countries that support Taiwan must "stop making such erroneous moves."

Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China, was expelled from the United Nations in 1971 in favor of Beijing's People's Republic.