Report: U.S. Will Post Military Officer in Taipei
The United States will post an army officer at its de facto embassy in Taiwan for the first time in 25 years, reversing a long-standing policy of using civilian defense contractors, Jane’s Defense Weekly said.
The move, which the defense journal said was tentatively scheduled for mid-2005, would probably upset China, as it would signal closer military ties between the U.S. and the island, which Beijing claims as a renegade province.
Washington cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979 and switched recognition to China, but it remains the island’s biggest arms supplier and has treaty obligations to help Taipei defend itself.
U.S.-Taiwan relations are handled on the island by the American Institute in Taiwan, which declined to comment on the report.
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