ABSTRACT
Detente was becoming more a feature of US relations with China. While the US Seventh Fleet patrolled the Taiwan Straits, China's shore based guns were silent in acknowledgement that the US fleet would prevent any nationalist invasion attempt. Despite emerging detente with China, in 1979 the US maintained army and naval forces to protect Taiwan and South Korea, and the US was responsible for the defence of Japan, though a noisy minority of Japanese wished otherwise. The invasion of Cambodia thereby gave a major push to Cambodia's roller-coaster ride to the abyss of mass destruction. Indonesia was sceptical about foreign powers guaranteeing the neutrality of Southeast Asia and opposed Singapore's idea of allowing the naval forces of all the major naval powers to patrol the region's waters. Textiles and electrical machinery were the principal Asian products, and the main countries for investment were Japan's former colonies: Taiwan and South Korea.
