The government is seeking to join a US-led anti-terrorism drill held in Mongolia next June in order to cement ties with the US, a Chinese-language newspaper said yesterday.
The paper quoted a presidential official as saying the US has invited Mongolia to join the anti-terrorist drill next year, and has invited China and South Korea to join as observers. China and South Korea have not confirmed their participation yet, the unnamed official said.
"We will actively seek to join this anti-terrorist drill in Mongolia," the unnamed official said.
"President [George W.] Bush's visiting Mongolia on his Asia trip is to thank Mongolia for sending troops to Iraq, but it also shows the US wants to compete with China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization," he said, referring to the inter-governmental organization of six nations -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
"We know the US is playing the two-handed strategy, but we want to work out a strategy which is most beneficial to Taiwan," the paper quoted the official as saying.
The government has also been seeking to launch military ties with neighboring countries, particularly Japan.
Last December, Japan named China as a potential security concern to Taiwan. In February this year, Japan and the US issued a joint statement declaring a peaceful Taiwan Strait was among their "common strategic objectives."
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