China: April 11, 2000

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A new Pentagon report claims that Taiwan is more vulnerable to attack than it realizes because the Taiwanese have no military links with anyone else, and hence cannot keep up with current technology. Taiwan has, the report says, "sat out the information revolution". While the Taiwanese want more high-tech gear, there are doubts that they could properly maintain or employ such advanced systems as aegis destroyers. The report, intended to show Congress that more aid to Taiwan was needed, was quickly classified by the Clinton Administration, which released only the parts stating that Taiwan could not absorb more advanced weapons. The report was then quickly leaked by the uniformed military. --Stephen V Cole