THE possibility that China will abandon hope of peacefully reuniting with Taiwan is still more dangerous to regional and global peace than the continued escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, the head of a US-based maritime transparency project said Monday.
There is no easily identifiable off-ramp for Beijing and Manila on the Second Thomas Shoal, Douglas Paal, unofficial US representative to Taipei from 2002 to 2006, tells the Post.
Taiwan's election on Saturday poses challenges for Washington no matter who wins, with a victory for the ruling party sure to exacerbate tensions with China while an opposition triumph may raise awkward questions about the island's defense policies. The presidential and parliamentary contests represent the first real wild card in…