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SAMUEL C. Y. KU*
During the periods of July-August 1995 and mid-March 1996, China initiated a series of missile tests and military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, and the mainland for many was considered responsible for the rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait. But, Southeast Asian countries held Taiwan responsible for stimulating the mainland's military actions because of the island's claim for independence. Why? There are three different theoretical arguments on this issue, i.e. those of political primacy, economic determinism, and the separation of politics and economics. This paper contends that the principle of separation of politics and economics is the policy that Southeast Asian countries pursue in developing their relations with the PRC and the ROC, i.e. maintaining official and full-scale relations with the PRC, but keeping unofficial and economic links with Taiwan. Therefore, for Southeast Asian countries, the PRC's military exercises in the Taiwan Strait were a political and not an economic problem, and one between the mainland and Taiwan. This is the key factor in explaining attitudes in Southeast Asian nations toward the Taiwan Strait crisis.
Introduction
The end of the Cold War has reduced the tensions in regional and global disputes mainly because the United States and Russia, the two former superpowers, are no longer struggling against each other. Rather, they are making joint efforts to solve the disputes in which they were directly or indirectly involved. This theory generally applies to countries all over the world, with the exception of those in the Asia-Pacific region. Unlike other parts of the world, where regional disputes are either eased or weakened, the Asia-Pacific region is still troubled by three major problems, namely the uncertainty in relations across the Taiwan Strait, the sovereignty disputes over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, and the North-South Korean issue.
While the latter two issues largely fall within the realm of diplomatic negotiations,' the first one, more importantly, has not done so. The People's Republic of China (PRC) shocked the world when it initiated a series of missile tests and military exercises in the Taiwan Strait during the periods of July-August 1995 and mid-March 1996. The PRC's sudden military movements against Taiwan immediately received the attention of countries all over the world, especially...