From AP:
With a deafening roar, eight Mirage fighter jets shoot upward from the darkened runway at Taiwan’s Hsinchu Air Force Base, armed with a deadly array of missiles and a mission to knock out incoming Chinese warplanes.
It’s only a simulation, of course, but the tensions are always real, and lately have ratcheted up over an ambitious political gambit by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian that has rattled both China and the U.S., Taiwan’s closest ally.
At issue is Chen’s plan for a public referendum next year on Taiwan seeking entry to the United Nations. Beijing views the referendum as a direct challenge to its claim that Taiwan is part of China. [Full Text]
[Image source: AP.com]
