[lyonel]

As a Southeast Asian, spending years in the US, I can understand the lacked of facts about Asia amongst some posters. Even if you give the Taiwanese nuclear weapon they will have hard time deciding whether to accept them. Bear in mind substantial portion of the people there favor a reunification in the future, will you want your offensive weapon there in the first place. It doesn't make good sense. Talks like these give bad impression about US and it defeat your goal to get friends in the region.
For your information, people here favor economic cooperation, they are working towards full development with specific goal and through cooperation amongst nations. Economic cooperation groups for North East Asia, East and Central Asia, Southeast Asia plus China,Korea and Japan, Mekong river basin economic cooperation group etc were the talks in the mass media here daily. Very little space given to saber rattling. I am sure it will be a different world if the trend continue without interference.

[syriacus]

Even if you give the Taiwanese nuclear weapon they will have hard time deciding whether to accept them.

What if we merely mention to Red China that we are "looking into the possibility" of offering the weapons to the Taiwanese?