Taiwan's tightrope walk between US and China

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It was a poke in the eye for Beijing when United States Health Secretary Alex Azar landed in Taiwan last week, the highest-level American official to visit the self-governing island in four decades.

China made known its displeasure by flying fighter jets across the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait into Taiwan's side of the sensitive waterway the following day.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 17, 2020, with the headline Taiwan's tightrope walk between US and China. Subscribe