Yesterday a Chinese official said that if the US were to sufficiently interfere in a future Chinese attempt to grab Taiwan, China would have to use nuclear weapons.
As far as I can tell, it barely made the news (except for Lou Dobbs usual anti-Chinese ranting). There also hasn't been a strong WH response, no?
Is this a usual statement for the Chinese or a new trial baloon? I think it's the latter. In the old days, if the commies made any statements like that, we usually came out with a proper response every time.
The Chinese are very smart. They know they're sitting on biggest dollar reserves in the world and that we're bogged down in Iraq and slowly stripping Pacific & Navy capabilities. If we start ignoring their open threats, they feel free to move on to the actual action. Maybe even before we get a new admin and find a way to extricate ourselves from Iraq and free our hands?
Any thoughts?