The Korean War showed how easily a local war in Asia, like the brewing China-Taiwan conflict, can escalate.
by Mario Seiglie
Few people today remember much about the Korean
War (1950-53). It started as a civil war between North and South Korea.
Yet, since there were political and strategic interests involved, soon
the United States, the former Soviet Union, China and 19 other nations
entered the dangerous fray. Besides the Koreans, the primary contenders
were the United States and its United Nations allies on one side, and
China and the former U.S.S.R. on the other. In that war, the U.S. suffered
over 150,000 casualties, South Korea over a million, and North Korea and
China about two million.
At one point in 1951, U.N. commanding officer
General Douglas MacArthur urged attacking China and blockading its coasts
as the only way to defeat the enemy. President Truman feared this would
lead to a world war between the United States, China and the Soviet Union.
After two more years of bloody combat, a truce
agreement was signed that left Korea divided. This unresolved conflict
remains one of the world's trouble spots.
But more importantly, this war showed how
easily a local civil war in Asia can escalate to epic proportions and
involve the world's major powers.
The recent Taiwan elections
Now, 50 years since the start of the Korean
War, another Asian threat looms on the horizon. The small, but economically
powerful island of Taiwan has elected a president whose political platform
calls for independence from mainland China. The Chinese authorities have
said such a declaration would trigger a war. This could lead to alignments
among the world's major powers that resemble the past. Moreover, a recent
poll among the Chinese showed 95 percent favor going to war if Taiwan
declared its independence.
