And think of it this way: If, according to your interpretation, bases 'in contact' were considered for all effects as bases 'touching'... Why the [·0 zero] maneuver needs an specific FAQ entry clarifying that it keeps a previous 'touching' state?
The FAQ needs this entry because the previous version(s) of the FAQ had it that the 0 maneuver did not preserve the touching state.
Version 2.1 says, "If a model begins its activation touching another ship and executes a [0 stop] maneuver, the ships do not overlap each other and are not considered touching, even though they remain physically adjacent."
Version 2.2 says, "If a model begins its activation touching another ship and executes a [0 stop] maneuver, the ships are considered touching."
And that's precisely my point.
I don't keep track of older FAQs, but assuming that is correct, up to 2.1, if there was no overlap, there was no touching, even when the bases remain physically adjacent, as explained in the entry.
2.2 changed it to allow the [·0] maneuver, -and only the zero maneuver- to maintain the touching state. Every other maneuver breaks the touching state as soon as it is performed, and generates new 'touchings' according to the newly overlapped ships.
