Taiwan Strait: Tensions Cool

By Bill Gertz
The Washington Times
April 17, 2008

The United States sent three aircraft carrier strike groups to waters around Taiwan after China told U.S. officials last year there was high risk of a military incident after Taiwan’s March 22 presidential election, according to Pentagon and military officials.
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One strike group has been redeployed to the Persian Gulf since the failure of an election-day referendum strongly opposed by Beijing, but two groups remain near the island, the officials said. The Chinese warning, described in a March 31 Pentagon report to Congress, said the danger period would continue until the inauguration of the new Taiwan government next month.
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Chinese Embassy Press Counselor Wang Baodong said last night that his government thinks the situation in the Taiwan Strait is “a bit more relaxed” since the defeat of the referendum, which Beijing saw as a step toward independence. “But we still think that the situation is very sensitive and complicated,” he said.
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Mr. Wang declined to comment on the deployment of the three aircraft carrier strike groups, led by the USS Kitty Hawk, the USS Nimitz and the USS Abraham Lincoln.

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Tags: aircraft carriers, china, Pentagon, Strait, Taiwan