TAIPEI -- Communications between the governments of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and U.S. President George W. Bush have become increasingly muddled, adding to the possibility of a miscalculation in the confrontation between this island nation and China.
A blunder in what are known as "cross-strait relations" could cause the U.S. and China to stumble into hostilities that would affect everyone in East Asia. The dispute arises from Beijing's claim to sovereignty over Taiwan and its repeated threats to use force to conquer the island. On the other side, Taiwan seeks to remain separate from China and every day edges further away.
The Bush administration, preoccupied with the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran, insurgency in Iraq, volatile rivalry between Israel and Palestine, revival of relations with Europe, and signs of a Russian retreat from a sprouting democracy, has not articulated a real policy on the Taiwan issue beyond platitudes about settling disputes peacefully.