Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Monday, 2 July 2012


Weekly Report from Taiwan Security Research (Jul. 1, 2012)
For full text, click on the title or visit the TSR web page at taiwansecurity.org
China's Leadership Succession
U.S. Urges China to Respect Internet Freedom after Bloomberg Web Site Is Censored (Washington Post, Jun. 30, 2012) American officials urged China not to censor its Internet after the government blocked access to the Bloomberg News Web site, whose investigative article reported on massive wealth amassed by relatives of Xi Jinping, the man expected to become China’s president.
Sino-Philippine Standoff in South China Sea
Fish Story By Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt(Foreign Policy, Jun. 25, 2012) For all it seemed the showdown between Philippine and Chinese vessels was about naval power, oil resources, and China’s inexorable rise, the Scarborough incident was really about one thing: the fish.
Vietnam Spars with China Over Oil Plans By Wayne Ma and James Hookway (Wall Street Journal, Jun. 27, 2012) Cnooc's move is likely influenced by a desire to see how far it can press its claims in the sea rather than entirely commercial considerations, analysts and diplomats say. Few foreign firms are likely to engage in drilling in such disputed waters, especially after Vietnam's protests.
PRC Starts Combat-Ready Patrols in South China Sea
(Reuters, Jun. 29, 2012) China has begun combat-ready patrols in the waters around a disputed group of islands in the South China Sea, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Taiwan Is ‘Very Careful’ on South China Sea Issues: US
(CNA, Jun. 29, 2012) Taiwan is being cautious in its handling of issues related to the disputed South China Sea, a senior U.S. official said.
How to Defuse South China Sea Conflicts By M. Taylor Fravel(Wall Street Journal, Jun. 26, 2012) As perhaps the longest such confrontation in the South China Sea in almost two decades, the standoff between China and the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal holds several lessons for similar disputes in these contested waters.
Sino-U.S. Engagement
U.S. Reaches Out to China, but Not for Naval Maneuvers By Jane Perlez (New York Times, Jun. 30, 2012) As the United States’ top military commander for Asia and the Pacific wrapped up a four-day tour of China, a large multinational maritime war exercise hosted by the United States was getting under way in the waters off Hawaii. China was not invited.
Cross-Strait Issues
Delay in Cross-Strait Talks Not Cause for Concern: Wu
(Taipei Times, Jun. 25, 2012) Vice President Wu Den-yih dismissed concerns about the state of cross-strait relations over the delay of an eighth round of cross-strait negotiations.
DPP’s China Relations Stable: Wu
(Taipei Times, Jun. 28, 2012) Joseph Wu said he expects no major changes in the party’s relations with the US and China in the short term.
DPP’s Su Expresses Willingness to Visit China
(China Post, Jun. 29, 2012) DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang recently expressed during an interview with a local magazine his willingness to visit mainland China as the head of the biggest opposition party in Taiwan.
Taiwanese Urged to Heed Hong Kong Lessons
(Taipei Times, Jul. 1, 2012) On the eve of the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang urged Taiwanese to be vigilant of the development of bilateral relations between Hong Kong and China, which he said have turned from economic dependence to social conflict.
PLA，Military Balance and Arms Sales
China’s UAVs Capable of Interfering with US Aircraft Carriers: Reports (CNA, Jun. 25, 2012) China has reportedly developed unmanned aerial vehicles capable of interfering with the navigation of U.S. aircraft carriers in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, according to foreign reports.
China Is ‘Severe’ Nuclear Threat to Taiwan: Expert
(Taipei Times, Jun. 30, 2012) A former Russian general has said Beijing could have up to 1,800 nuclear warheads, whereas previous studies estimated a few hundred.
US Assures Weapon Quality After Reports of Fake Parts
(CNA, Jun. 25, 2012) The United States has assured Taiwan of the quality of weapons it sells to other countries, weeks after a U.S. Senate report found that the use of bogus Chinese electronic parts in American military equipment was widespread, Taiwan's military said.
Defense Ministry Mulls Expensive F-16 Upgrades: Report
(China Post, Jun. 26, 2012) The government is reluctant to accept Washington's offer of a US$3.8 billion upgrade package for Taiwan's existing F-16A/B fighter jets, sources told the United Evening News.
Clear Signals Needed on F-16C/Ds By Walter Lohman(Taipei Times, Jun. 28, 2012) What is needed are clear signals that the F-16C/D remains critical to the Ma government’s interest in addressing what the Obama administration itself has called a “growing military threat to Taiwan.”
U.S. Beef Row and Taiwan's Foreign Relations
US Beef Is Political Hostage: AIT Boss
(Taipei Times, Jun. 28, 2012) The US beef issue has become ‘the symbolic embodiment of Taiwan’s protected markets,’ according to American Institute in Taiwan Director William Stanton.
Ma Targets ECFA Progress to Offset Lag in FTA Talks
(China Post, Jun. 26, 2012) President Ma Ying-jeou said that he has been engaged in personally supervising the progress of tasks associated with further talks and implementation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
Taiwan, Japan Anticipate Economic Pact
(CNA, Jun. 28, 2012) Taiwan and Japan are expected to sign an economic trade pact this year, while six other economic agreements with various trading partners are currently under negotiation, Economics Minister Shih Yen-shiang said.
Taiwan’s UN Dilemma: To Be or Not To Be By Sigrid Winkler(Brookings, June, 2012) Further progress in Taiwan’s agenda to take part in functional UN specialized agencies will remain an open issue in the future, dependent on the outcome of a settlement of the question of Taiwan’s status. Ongoing cross-Strait talks have not yet touched upon the issue of sovereignty, nor will they in the foreseeable future.
China's Rise and Its Domestic Issues
China Responds to Slowdown with Reforms By Shen Hong(Wall Street Journal, Jun. 26, 2012) China's government has responded to a deep economic slowdown with a slew of policy initiatives in recent months that together underline a strategy to spur a recovery, while allowing market forces to play a bigger role in reforming an economy still dominated by the state.
China to Aid Yuan Flow to and from Hong Kong
(Wall Street Journal, Jun. 26, 2012) China plans to unveil new measures aimed at boosting the flow of its currency between Hong Kong and the mainland, a move that would mark yet another step by Beijing to internationalize its tightly controlled currency.
China Plans Yuan Conversion Trial
(Wall Street Journal, Jun. 28, 2012) China plans to launch a trial program allowing yuan conversion in a financial zone to be jointly developed by the cities of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, marking the latest effort by Beijing to open up the country's capital account and boost the international use of the Chinese currency.
Regional Issues and Japan Policy
South Korea to Sign Military Pact with Japan By Choe Sang-hun(New York Times, Jun. 29, 2012) South Korea said that it would sign a treaty with Japan that would encourage the sharing of sensitive military data on their common concerns: North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and China’s growing military might.
South Korea Postpones Military Pact with Japan
(New York Times, Jun. 30, 2012) Faced with mounting political pressure at home, the South Korean government abruptly postponed the signing of its first military cooperation pact with Japan since World War II.
North Korea Tests the Patience of Its Closest Ally By Jane Perlez(New York Times, Jun. 25, 2012) Since succeeding his father, Kim Jong-un surprisingly has thumbed his nose at China, whose economic largess keeps the government afloat.
Response to Pacnet #32R—The Illogic of China’s North Korea Policy By R. Stapleton Roy (PacNet #32R-A, Pacific Forum, CSIS, Jun. 7, 2012) Illogic is the wrong metric for assessing Chinese policy. China is struggling to deal with an irreconcilable contradiction posed by the nature of the North Korean regime, not by Chinese failures in logical reasoning.
China Ties at Risk without Real Leaders, Says Expert By John Garnaut (The Age, Jun. 29, 2012) Australia is drifting towards a potential crisis with China, its dominant economic partner, because it has failed to talk honestly and build channels of communication, Linda Jacobson of the Lowy Institute says.
Taiwan Rejects Japan’s Protest Over Tiaoyutais Row
(CNA, Jun. 26, 2012) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated Taiwan's sovereignty over the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands after the Japanese authorities demanded that a Taiwanese coastal patrol boat leave the waters around the islands.
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Regards,
Dalton LinEditor, Taiwan Security Research
E-mail: daltonlin@ntu.edu.tw, Taiwan Security Research: taiwansecurity.org
Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 00:38