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  US should revive flagging ties with Taiwan
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ContributorGerald Farinas 
Last EditedGerald Farinas  Feb 22, 2008 10:17pm
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CategoryStudy
MediaNews Service - Reuters
News DateSaturday, February 23, 2008 04:15:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionU.S. neglect of its traditionally close ties with Taiwan is raising the risk of a damaging conflict as the island faces military and diplomatic pressure from China.

To defuse mounting tensions across the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwan Policy Working Group recommended that Washington step up official contacts with Taiwan -- dealings that have declined in frequency and level in recent years under Chinese pressure.

"A broken dialogue increases the likelihood that what is now a dangerous situation will develop into an even more dangerous crisis," their study said.

The United States switched diplomatic relations to the communist government in China in 1978 after decades of recognizing Taiwan. Taiwan has been ruled separately since the Nationalists fled there after losing a civil war in 1949.

China claims Taiwan as a renegade province that needs to be reunified eventually, by force if necessary. U.S. law requires Washington to provide Taiwan with armaments needed for its defense, but direct official contacts are circumscribed -- often in ways seen by democratic Taiwan as demeaning.

The study said Communist China's growing military power and efforts to isolate Taiwan internationally, combined with efforts by frustrated Taipei leaders to counter this isolation, have created a dangerous cycle.

The United States has responded increasingly by criticizing or pressuring Taiwan at China's behest, but will endanger its interests in Asia if it fails to change course, warned the group.
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