US-Taiwan: The guiding hand of Frank Carlucci

WASHINGTON - The talks last week between Paul Wolfowitz, the US deputy defense secretary, and Tang Yiau-ming, Taiwan's minister of national defense, marked the highest-level contacts between Washington and Taipei since diplomatic relations were severed in 1979.

They took place during a closed-door conference of US and Taiwanese defense officials organized by the US-Taiwan Business Council, and infuriated China.

On Sunday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing summoned US Ambassador Clark Randt and expressed Beijing's "strong indignation and resolute opposition" to what it perceives as a US tilt toward Taiwan and a violation of its "one China" policy. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, who also met Tang, countered in Washington that the sessions were mere "courtesy meetings".