Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Weekly Report from Taiwan Security Research (Sep. 26, 2010)

For full text, click on the title or visit the TSR web page at taiwansecurity.org

China-Japan Diplomatic Row Over Boat Collisions

China Halts Ministerial-Level Contacts with Japan
(AP, Sep. 20, 2010) China has suspended high-level contacts with Japan over the extended detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain arrested after a collision near disputed islands, state broadcaster CCTV said.

China and Japan Escalate Standoff Over Fishing Captain By Martin Fackler and Ian Johnson (New York Times, Sep. 20, 2010) What started nearly two weeks ago with the Japanese Coast Guard’s arrest of a Chinese trawler captain in disputed waters has snowballed into a heated diplomatic standoff between China and Japan, highlighting anxieties in Asia about China’s rising power and assertiveness.

Japan Urges Nationalism Avoided in China Sea Row
(Reuters, Sep. 21, 2010) Japan said on Tuesday it and China should avoid fuelling nationalism over a sea dispute and called for the row to be resolved without affecting business between Asia's two biggest economies.

China Says No Meeting with Japan at U.N. By Ian Johnson(New York Times, Sep. 22, 2010) China broadened its show of diplomatic displeasure over a territorial dispute with Japan by effectively scrapping the possibility that Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would meet his Japanese counterpart at the United Nations this week.
Japan-China Island Tensions Rise By Masami Ito(Japan Times, Sep. 23, 2010) Tensions are growing daily over Japan's arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain following his ship's collision with Japan Coast Guard vessels in the East China Sea. Following are basic questions and answers about the dispute.

China Arrests Four Japanese Amid Tensions
(New York Times, Sep. 24, 2010) In what could be another sign of rising tensions between Japan and China, Beijing said that four Japanese had been arrested for videotaping military installations.

Japan Retreats with Release of Chinese Boat Captain By Martin Fackler and Ian Johnson (New York Times, Sep. 25, 2010) A diplomatic showdown between Japan and China ended Friday when Tokyo accepted Beijing’s demands for immediate release of the captain, a concession that appeared to mark a humiliating retreat in a Pacific test of wills.

Japan Rejects China Call for Apology
(AP, Sep. 26, 2010) Japan strongly rejected a Chinese demand that it apologize for detaining a Chinese fishing boat captain, whose arrest after a collision near disputed islands plunged relations between the two Asian powers to their lowest level in years.

Dispute with Japan Highlights China’s Foreign-Policy Power Struggle By John Pomfret (Washington Post, Sep. 23, 2010) The increasingly bitter dispute between China and Japan over a small group of islands in the Pacific is heightening concerns in capitals across the globe over who controls China's foreign policy.
China’s Aggression and Insecurity By Jeffrey Wasserstrom(Project Syndicate, Sep. 25, 2010) A closer look reveals that Chinese President Hu Jintao’s words and deeds are often shaped by a mixture of insecurity and cockiness and that Chinese officials alternate between playing up and playing down the country’s rise.

ECFA and Cross-Strait Issues

ECFA Crucial to Bilateral Relations: ARATS’ Chen
(China Post, Sep. 26, 2010) The landmark economic cooperation framework agreement between Taiwan and China represents a crucial strategic policy with profound significance and influence for peaceful development in bilateral relations, according to Chen Yunlin.

DPP Would Maintain PRC Policy: Tsai
(Taipei Times, Sep. 25, 2010) The Democratic Progressive Party would adopt a more conciliatory stance in cross-strait relations that would seek to find more of a middle ground with China if it were to regain power in 2012, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen said.

China State-Owned Firms Delegation to Visit Taiwan
(CNA, Sep. 25, 2010) A 30-member delegation from China's state-owned companies and large enterprises that plans to arrive in Taiwan Sept. 25 is expected to bring more Chinese investment, an official of Taiwan's quasi-official trade promotion council said.

Currency Issue and U.S.-China Engagement

China Has Not Done Enough on Yuan: Obama
(Reuters, Sep. 22, 2010) U.S. President Barack Obama said that China has not done enough to raise the value of the yuan, keeping up tough American rhetoric on Chinese policy as U.S. lawmakers weigh new legislation to punish Beijing.

Three Faces of the New China By David E. Sanger(New York Times, Sep. 26, 2010) In a blur of headlines over the past few days, Americans have been surprised with brief, seemingly contradictory glimpses of how China is wielding its newfound power.

PLA, Military Balance and Arms Sales

Taiwan Faces Growing Threat: Communist China Undermines Rapprochement By Richard C. Bush III (Washington Times, Sep. 8, 2010) The annual report on China’s military power judges that China is acquiring capabilities to enhance its options while restricting those of Taiwan and the United States.
Aging Tigers, Mighty Dragons: China’s Bifurcated Surface Fleet By Joseph Carrigan (China Brief 10(19), Jamestown Foundation, Sep. 24, 2010) PLAN has become a bifurcated force—a navy comprised of modern, highly capable ships and submarines and older, decidedly less capable and seemingly less reliable ones. While U.S. Is Distracted, China Develops Sea Power By Robert D. Kaplan (Washington Post, Sep. 26, 2010) The degree to which the United States can shift its focus from the Middle East to East Asia will say much about our future prospects as a great power.

Taiwan Welcomes China’s Remarks on Missile Withdrawal
(CNA, Sep. 24, 2010) Taiwan welcomed Chinese Primer Wen Jiabao's Sept. 22 statement that missiles deployed by Beijing across the Taiwan Strait aimed at Taiwan will eventually be removed.

The Politics of China’s Missile Redeployments By Cheng-yi Lin(China Brief 10(19), Jamestown Foundation, Sep. 24, 2010) Given China’s increasing strength and Beijing’s increasing ability to direct cross-Strait relations, the lack of a proactive posture by the United States in the Taiwan Strait has allowed U.S. influence to be relatively diminished.

U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference Slated for Oct. 3
(CNA, Sep. 22, 2010) The annual Taiwan-U.S. Defense Industry Conference will be held in the U.S. state of Maryland Oct. 3-5, the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council said.

Taiwan's Domestic Issues

Survey on President Ma Ying-jeou’s Approval Rating
(GVSRC, Sep. 20, 2010) 30.1 percent of Taiwanese people were content with President Ma’s performance while 55.6 percent not.
Economy Key to Looming Elections By Hong Chi-chang(Taipei Times, Sep. 20, 2010) The KMT has made a mistake by ignoring ordinary people’s perceptions of the overall economic climate and overlooking the issues that concern them most in the run-up to the municipal elections.

China's Rise and Domestic Issues

China Increasing Economic Leverage by Limiting ‘Rare Earths’ Exports By John Pomfret (Washington Post, Sep. 23, 2010) China's recent move to limit exports of minerals critical in the manufacture of a vast array of products such as missiles, car batteries, cellphones, lasers and computers is stoking alarm that its domination of the industry could give it enhanced leverage over the United States.

Regional Issues

U.S., Asean to Push Back Against China By Jeremy Page, Patrick Barta and Jay Solomon (Wall Street Journal, Sep. 22, 2010) The U.S. and its Asian allies are starting to push back at China's growing assertiveness in the region, strengthening security ties and taking more robust positions in territorial disputes in the East and South China seas.

Indonesia Rejects China Stance That U.S. Stay Out of Local Waters Dispute (Bloomberg, Sep. 23, 2010) Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa rejected China’s stance that the U.S. stay out of territorial disputes in the South China Sea ahead of a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders with President Barack Obama.

China’s Disputes in Asia Buttress Influence of U.S. By Edward Wong (New York Times, Sep. 23, 2010) Rising frictions between China and its neighbors in recent weeks over security issues have handed the United States an opportunity to reassert itself.

Australia, China Conduct Live-Fire Naval Exercise in Yellow Sea
(VoA, Sep. 25, 2010) Australia and China have conducted their first-ever joint naval exercise involving the firing of live ammunition.  Ongoing tensions between China and the United States forced organizers not to invite American forces to take part in the military maneuvers.

China Unveils “The Kashmir Card” By Mohan Malik(China Brief 10(19), Jamestown Foundation, Sep. 24, 2010) While China and India have long sparred over the Dalai Lama and Tibet’s status, border incursions and China’s growing footprint in southern Asia, a perceptible shift in the Chinese stance on Kashmir has now emerged as a new source of interstate friction.

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