Taiwan mulls shipping water from China as ties improve

TAIPEI (AFP) - Officials on a Taiwan-controlled island group near the Chinese mainland said on Sunday they are considering importing water from China in yet another sign of warming relations.

The move would mark another significant step forward in the improvement of ties, since the fortified Kinmen island group was a flashpoint during the Cold War and was shelled from the mainland at one point.

Officials from Kinmen have discussed a proposal to use ships to transport water from Xiamen, a coastal city in China's southeastern Fujian province just miles away.

Water supplies, mostly from desalination, underground supplies and a tiny dam, are sufficient at the moment to meet the needs of some 100,000 civilians and of troops stationed there.