ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the 1995 period in United States (US)-People's Republic of China (PRC)-Republic of China relations, a year characterized by extreme fluctuations in cooperation and tension between China and both the US and Taiwan. While perhaps undiplomatic, Gingrich's comments accurately reflected a growing sense of congressional dissatisfaction with Clinton's China policy, which successfully maintained a dialogue with the PRC but did little to moderate Chinese behavior. Even while President Lee Teng-hui indicated a willingness to improve relations with mainland China, he also moved forward to expand Taiwan's international political representation. The US military under President Clinton believed dialogue with the People's Liberation Army and frequent high-level military-to-military exchanges were vital to prevent the US and China from drifting into an adversarial relationship in the future. The US military explanation of engagement was offered in the 1995 Posture Statement of the Commander in Chief, US Pacific Command.
