Word: straits
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...democratic, self-governed island is one of Beijing's most important foreign policy considerations. It puts a huge amount of effort into diplomatically isolating Taiwan, which Beijing considers Chinese territory that should be reunified by force if necessary. China maintains an estimated 1,300 ballistic missiles along the Taiwan Strait to be used against the island in event of war. While the U.S. does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it remains its biggest ally and protector. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, U.S. law requires that it sell military hardware to provide for Taiwan's defense, which infuriates China...
...Malaysian capital, or 3 1/2 hours across the border from the Lion City - make it a no-brainer overnight excursion (or a long day trip, if you've got the stamina). The charming town is brimming with edifices that nod to a complicated colonial history on the Malacca Strait, while the narrow streets and traditional homes offer a peek into the culture of the Peranakans, or Malay Chinese, who lived there in great numbers. Here are three (of many) must-dos. See websites like melaka.net for more...
...place of burial. When the British arrived in 1825, they added a lighthouse and converted the original building into a munitions and gunpowder store. Wander through the arresting stone structure, which is open to the sky, then sit on the cool floor and gaze out at the Strait. (See TIME's Global Adviser for exotic, beautiful and interesting getaways...
...rickety boat emitted signals of distress from the Sunda strait, a body of water sandwiched between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. Local authorities had no vessels in the area, and called on Australia for assistance. When H.M.A.S. Armidale, an Australian naval ship, approached the troubled craft, they found 78 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers heading for Australia. Unsurprisingly, their wooden boat was not seaworthy, and those on board were transferred to the Oceanic Viking, an armed patrol vessel used by Australian customs to track poachers of the highly endangered Patagonian toothfish in these waters...
...just 37 pieces this time (comprising Qing dynasty paintings, vases, seals and other artifacts), and they are strictly on loan from Beijing's Palace Museum. But the gesture is unprecedented, emotionally charged and heralded as one of the fruits of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's conciliatory cross-strait policy...