Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Sunday, 8 April 2012

Weekly Report from Taiwan Security Research (Apr. 8, 2012)

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

Addressing U.S.-China Strategic Distrust

Addressing U.S.-China Strategic Distrust By Kenneth Lieberthal and Wang Jisi (Brookings, Mar. 30, 2012) Although both Beijing and Washington consider the U.S.-China relationship to be the most important in the world, distrust of each other’s long term intentions ("strategic distrust") has grown to a dangerous degree.

Chinese Insider Offers Rare Glimpse of U.S.-China Frictions By Jane Perlez (New York Times, Apr. 3, 2012) The senior leadership of the Chinese government increasingly views the competition between the United States and

China

as a zero-sum game, according to an influential Chinese policy analyst.

Wu Den-yih Meets with Li Keqiang at Boao

Bo Xilai's Ouster and China's Leadership Succession

China’s Essential Reading: Stability, Stability, Stability, Hu, Hu, Hu By William Kazer (China Real Time Report, Apr. 6, 2012) Anyone reading

China

’s official press lately might be forgiven for thinking the whole country is in an earthquake zone.

Wen Jiabao’s Reform Push More Than Just Political Theater By Russell Leigh Moses (China Real Time Report, Apr. 6, 2012) This recent political uncertainty does provide the opportunity for those pushing restructuring to make their case again. Perhaps Wen thinks he might still know the way: to use economic distress to show that political reform is still the solution.

A Populist’s Downfall Exposes Ideological Divisions in China’s Ruling Party By Michael Wines (New York Times, Apr. 7, 2012) With the dismissal and investigation last month of Bo Xilai, the notions of stability and consensus in China’s secretive political system have taken a big and possibly lasting hit.

'1 Country, 2 Areas' and Cross-Strait Issues

Context Crucial for ‘One China’ By Cho Hui-wan(Taipei Times, Apr. 8, 2012) Wu made the “one country, two areas” remarks in Beijing. For those living in “the mainland area” or the international community, does “one country” refer to the ROC? The regrettable fact is that their understanding of “one country” or “one China” is that it refers to the People’s Republic of China, which is represented by the government in Beijing.

Taiwan Doubles Quota for Solo Chinese Tourists
(AFP, Apr. 2, 2012) Taiwan will double its quota of independent Chinese tourists to allow up to 1,000 visitors a day, the government announced, less than a year after lifting a ban on solo travel from the mainland.

Taiwan to Raise Limit on Investments, Loans to China
(Reuters, Apr. 5, 2012) Taiwan’s financial regulator will allow the island’s banks to lend to or invest in Chinese companies to the equivalent of 100 percent of their net worth, raising the limit in the latest sign of improving banking ties across the Taiwan strait.

Cross-Strait Trade Drops 7.9% in First 2 Months
(China Post, Apr. 6, 2012) Two-way trade between both sides of the Taiwan Strait amounted to US$21.3 billion in the first two months of the year, representing a decline of 7.9 percent from the same period last year, according to statistics released by China's Ministry of Commerce.

ECFA Talks to Be Finished in Two Years: President
(Taipei Times, Apr. 7, 2012) President Ma Ying-jeou said the government will complete negotiations on the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China in the next two years, as well as deepen economic and trade relations with other countries to raise the nation’s economic competitiveness.

More ECFA Talks Needed to Reduce China-S. Korea FTA Threat: Scholars (China Post, Apr. 8, 2012) Taiwan should accelerate follow-up talks with China over a bilateral economic pact to reduce the adverse impact of a free trade agreement between China and South Korea on Taiwanese exports, according to advisers to

Taiwan

's Mainland Affairs Council.

China Government Procurement Teams to Visit Taiwan: TAITRA
(CNA, Apr. 7, 2012) Delegations from two ministries in China will visit Taiwan this year, with the aim of purchasing products from the cloud computing and flat panel sectors, among others, an official at

Taiwan

's main trade promotion body said.

U.S. Policy and Sino-U.S. Engagement

U.S. Moves toward Normalizing Relations with Myanmar By Steven Lee Myers and Thomas Fuller (New York Times, Apr. 5, 2012) The Obama administration announced its most significant moves yet to open relations with Myanmar, lifting the travel ban on its senior leaders and easing some sanctions that have starved the country of most American investments for more than two decades.

First U.S. Marines Arrive in Australian City of Darwin By Matt Siegel(New York Times, Apr. 5, 2012) The first Marines to be deployed to Australia under a deal that will boost the American military’s presence in China’s strategic backyard arrived in Darwin.

America’s Place in the New World By Charles A. Kupchan(New York Times, Apr. 8, 2012) The most potent challenge to America’s dominance comes not from the continuing redistribution of global power, but from a subtler change: the new forms of governance and capitalism being forged by

China

and other rising nations.

China Buys Inroads in the Caribbean, Catching U.S. Notice By Randal C. Archibold (New York Times, Apr. 8, 2012) The Chinese have flexed their economic prowess in nearly every corner of the world. But planting a flag so close to the United States has generated intense vetting — and some raised eyebrows — among diplomats, economists and investors.

PLA and Military Balance

China Joins Russia in Naval Exercise
(Taipei Times, Apr. 2, 2012) China and Russia will hold a series of naval exercises in the Yellow Sea toward the end of this month, a Chinese military spokesman announced last week, in what could be the largest drill ever held by the PLA Navy in the West Pacific.

Taiwan Drove Growth of PLA: Report
(Taipei Times, Apr. 7, 2012) A potential attack on Taiwan has been a “motivating factor” behind

China

’s military modernization, a new report from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission says.

Missile Unit Deployed in Taipei After Getting Upgraded in US: Report (China Post, Apr. 4, 2012) The first batch of the Patriot missile launchers upgraded to the more advanced PAC-3 configuration has been sent back to the country and deployed in Taipei, according to a local report.

U.S. Beef Row and Taiwan's Foreign Relations

China's Rise and Its Domestic Issues

China Raises Foreign Investment Quota By Dinny Mcmahon, Lingling Wei and Andrew Galbraith (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 3, 2012) China's securities regulator said it will more than triple the amount of funds foreign investors are allowed to invest in the country's stock and bond markets, the latest sign that Beijing is relaxing its historically tight grip on the flow of capital in and out of China.

Wen Calls China Banks Too Powerful By David Barboza(New York Times, Apr. 4, 2012) rime Minister Wen Jiabao of China said on Tuesday that the nation’s biggest state-run banks have too much power and ought to be broken up because they earn far too much money.

Regional Issues and Japan Policy

Southeast Asian Countries, China Bring South China Sea Territorial Rift to Regional Summit (AP, Apr. 3, 2012) New differences could undercut attempts by Southeast Asian countries and China to forge a pact aimed at preventing territorial conflicts from erupting into violence, diplomats said.

Southeast Asia Fails to Tackle Sea Spat with China Head on
(Reuters, Apr. 4, 2012) The Philippines claimed progress in persuading Southeast Asian leaders to present a united front to China in a festering maritime dispute, but the region remains divided over how to tackle its biggest security challenge.

Japan, China to Discuss More IMF Funding By Kosaku Narioka(Wall Street Journal, Apr. 7, 2012) Japan and China will hold talks on additional funding for the IMF before a meeting of the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations later this month, underscoring the continued close cooperation between Asia's two largest economies on efforts to stabilize the global financial system.