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US and China try a little jaw-jaw to avoid war-war over Taiwan

FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, U.S., March 3, 2022.

FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, U.S., March 3, 2022.

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
Matthew Kendrick
By Matthew KendrickJanuary 10, 2024
Matthew Kendrick
Matthew Kendrick is an Emmy-nominated journalist and formerly wrote about global affairs for GZERO Media. He speaks fluent Spanish with a mild Chilean accent thanks to growing up in the Atacama, advanced Mandarin thanks to his time in Harbin, and basic Korean thanks to his Fulbright award. Prior to GZERO, Matt was a producer for CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. When he's not reporting and writing, you can catch him doing yoga, struggling to teach himself Turkish, or (most likely) napping with his two cats.
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Chinese Maj. Gen. Song Yanchao visited Washington on Monday and Tuesday for talks with his US counterpart, Assistant Sec. of Defense Michael Chase, in the first such exchange since 2021 – and just ahead of the Taiwanese election on Saturday.

Beijing laid out its typical stringent line on that front, saying it would make no “concession or compromise on the Taiwan question” and urging the US to stop sending Taipei weapons and avoid supporting Taiwanese independence. The US said it would continue to support the status quo – in other words, “fat chance” – though it is important to note the US has not officially supported Taiwanese independence since reconciling with Mao’s China 52 years ago.

But despite butting heads, both sides also emphasized their commitment to continuing military-to-military communications to avoid accidents, misinterpretations, and potentially catastrophic consequences if events start to snowball. It’s a crucial safeguard as China is expected to amplify its military harassment of Taiwan with jets and warships – already a near-daily phenomenon – should incumbent party candidate William Lai, the front-runner, emerge victorious after this weekend’s vote.

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