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U.S. Walks Fine Line With China, Taiwan
(AP) - The weaponry is heavily American - F-16s bombarding a simulated Chinese flotilla, Cobra helicopters targeting invading ground troops, Patriot missiles streaking across the azure Asian sky.The annual war games are Taiwan's way of showcasing its readiness to repel an attack by neighboring China, and they also serve as a reminder that the island's back-up muscle comes from Washington, long its major supporter. The exercise highlights a rivalry between democratic Taiwan and its giant communist neighbor that potentially could draw the United States into a conflict with a China that is fast emerging as a global heavyweight. Talk is tough on both sides of the 100 mile-wide Taiwan Strait separating the island and the mainland. But as with Korea, Asia's other unfinished civil war, this one reflects a complex set of priorities that range from domestic politics to international economics, regional rivalries to global strategic interests. China and Taiwan split in 1949, and since then Beijing has never abandoned its position that the island is part of its territory, to be recovered by force if necessary. Posted by: Slenter Hupavins5895 2006-08-13 |
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