It is possible that every history of the Clinton Administration's defense policy will mention the decision to send a second carrier battle group into the waters off Taiwan in March 1996. In the closing days of Taiwan's first presidential election, the USS Nimitz carrier battle group, on duty in the Mediterranean, was redirected through Southeast Asia toward Taiwan. As a military maneuver, the action was complex but not exceptionally difficult. Yet because of its significance to regional politics and diplomacy, and its long-range implications for the preservation of stability, this military action could be recorded as a watershed event in the American security policy in Asia. The first popular election of a chief executive in China's long history was accompanied by a display of frustration from Beijing. China test-fired missiles into commercial shipping and transportation lanes near Taiwan's two busiest ports. Naturally, concerns over the accuracy of Chinese missiles and questions regarding China's larger intentions worried Taiwan's citizens. Nevertheless, they turned out for the balloting and cast the majority of their votes for the candidate, Lee Teng-hui, who had so displeased Beijing.
Crisis in the Taiwan Strait
1997
357 pages
Report
No indication
English
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