Joseph Wu, Taiwan's chief representative in the United States, called on Washington on July 9 to counter China's massive military buildup in Asia.
The United States follows a "one China" policy, which recognizes a single China, with Taiwan part of it. But Washington also pledges defensive weapons for Taiwan and has hinted that it would provide military backing if China attacked.
"Taiwan's sovereignty is being put in danger by Chinese tactics," Wu said. Taiwan and the United States need more consultations to ease Taiwan's worries about China, he said.
Wu listed China's many advantages over Taiwan: economic, military and political strength, a huge population and a growing lobbying effort directed toward U.S. lawmakers.
"There's only one thing that Taiwan has an advantage in at this moment: Taiwan is a democracy and China is not," he said. Wu called on the United States to encourage Japan to boost security talks with Taiwan. (Source: AP, .International Herald Tribune, July 9, 2007).