Ordering Aegis would look like arms bazaar gluttony, so postponement would make practical as well as political sense. America has made vague undertakings to help in the defence of Taiwan and President Bill Clinton went so far as to despatch American warships to the Taiwan straits, when China taunted Taiwan with some particularly fierce military exercises. Any sale of Aegis would tie Taiwan more closely with the US and raises the prospect of America being dragged into any future conflict between Taipei and Beijing. America is still licking its wounds after its debacle in Vietnam and it seems inconceivable that Washington would plunge into another far-off Asian conflict, and a budding superpower at that. Taiwan can expect more American military hardware, but it should not hold out for the best that Washington can offer - not if it offends the Chinese.
Families welcome home spy plane crew.