US and Taiwanese Defense Officials Met Last Week in Alaska

(Patria) - US and Taiwanese defense officials held talks in Alaska last week, a US official said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The United States is Taiwan's most important international sponsor and arms supplier, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, regularly describes Taiwan as the most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the United States.

Evelyn Reed, a senior Indo-Pacific official at the US Department of Defense, met with a senior Taiwanese national security official in Anchorage, the official said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that the world faces a choice between peace or war at a major military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, with the participation of Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an unprecedented show of force.