Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday 5 February 2016

epaper_image
2016-02-05 | NO.20(5) epaper |
Note to Readers
Dear readers,

For various reasons, the TSR server was down four times in the past couple days, and the inaccessibility delayed the issue of the weekly report of January 31, 2016. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
South China Sea Disputes
Kerry Off to Asia to Address Maritime Disputes  (2016-01-25)
(AP, By Matthew Lee) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is pressing for peaceful resolutions to increasingly tense maritime disputes in Asia and urging mainland China to take a firmer stand on North Korea's nuclear program after its recent bomb test.
US, China Spar Over North Korea, South China Sea (2016-01-28)
(AP, By Matthew Lee and Christopher Bodeen) The United States and mainland China sparred on how to deal with North Korea's latest nuclear weapons test and ease rising tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. 

Ma Visits Taiping, Asserts Nation's Claim
 (2016-01-29)
(China Post) In a statement made on arrival, Ma outlined the four main reasons for his visit to the island, including: visiting Coast Guard personnel stationed on the island before the Lunar New Year, presenting a roadmap to his South China Sea Peace Initiative, proposing how Taiping Island could serve peaceful purposes and clarifying the island's legal status.
President's Visit to Taiping Island Necessary: Scholars (2016-01-28)
(CNA) During his tenure, Ma has to affirm that the island is an inherent part of the territory of Taiwan, said Alexander Huang, an assistant professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.
ROC Should 'Do More' on Taiping Issue: US Scholar (2016-01-29)
(CNA) "My hope is that Taiwan will turn its occupation of Taiping Island, by far the largest of the contested Spratly features, into a model for peaceful cooperation with its neighbors that will embarrass Beijing into converting its artificial islands to similarly peaceful cooperation with its neighbors," Jerome Cohen wrote in an online magazine forum last December.
To Fix the South China Sea, Look to Taiwan (2016-01-31)
(The National Interest, By Michael Mazza) Taiwan has been treated not as a coequal claimant, but as a complication, despite the fact that Ma is perhaps the only leader to have put forth a thoughtful—if difficult to enact—peace plan for the region’s troubled waters.
Tsai Ing-wen Backs ROC Sovereignty Over Taiping (2016-01-30)
(CNA) President-elect Tsai Ing-wen said that she has consistently insisted on the Republic of China's sovereignty over Taiping Island, and she asked all parties involved in the dispute to maintain peace and stability in the region.

DPP Says Declined Island Invite Out of Respect
 (2016-01-30)
(Taipei Times) Tsai Ing-wen said Ma remains the president under the Constitution and that Taiwan has sovereignty over the island and disputes must be settled peacefully.

1st Spratlys 'Resident' Asserts ROC Claim (2016-01-31)
(China Post) Chu Mei-ling— the first Taiwanese citizen to register her residence in the Spratly Islands — has asserted the Republic of China's claim in the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration said.

US Acknowledge President Ma's Road Map for Peace Initiative (2016-01-30)
(CNA) The United States said that it appreciates the road map President Ma Ying-jeou has devised for his South China Sea peace initiative, which urges all parties concerned to be included in a mechanism for talks regarding South China Sea affairs and to cooperate on a variety of issues.
Unplanned Encounters in the South China Sea: Under Control? (2016-01-25)
(The Diplomat, By Ankit Panda) The so-called Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) between the United States and China, among other states, governs communications protocols for naval crews and is a proving to be a useful mechanism between the U.S. and Chinese navies–certainly in the South China Sea.
US Destroyer Sails Near Triton in South China Sea (2016-01-31)
(Reuters) A US Navy guided-missile destroyer yesterday sailed within 12 nautical miles of an island claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam in the South China Sea, in an operation the Pentagon said was aimed at challenging efforts to restrict freedom of navigation.
China Strongly Condemns US for Sending Warship Near Island (2016-01-31)
(AP) China strongly condemned the United States after a U.S. warship deliberately sailed near one of the Beijing-controlled islands in the hotly contested South China Sea to exercise freedom of navigation and challenge China's vast territorial claims.
Japan Policy
Taiwan Elections: An Opportunity for Japan? (2016-01-29)
(The Diplomat, By Chen Yo-Jung) Tokyo’s new proactive attitude on the sensitive Taiwan issue can be linked to the changing geopolitical situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea, as well as with Taiwan’s own subtle transformation in its attitude towards China. 
U.S. “Pivot” to Asia and Sino-U.S. Engagement
Obama's Asia Engagement Architecture: A Framework on Which to Build (2016-01-28)
(The Diplomat, By Brian Harding) Presidential attention has contributed to substantial gains for the United States in Asia during the Obama administration – a successful conclusion to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, agreements for military access in Southeast Asia and Oceania, a historic climate agreement with China, and new guidelines to modernize the U.S.-Japan alliance, among others. These accomplishments leave a substantial legacy on which the next U.S. president can build even deeper ties with the region.
Needed: A Long Telegram from Beijing (2016-01-28)
(The Diplomat, By Francis P. Sempa) The United States needs an intellectual policy debate similar to the one spurred by Kennan’s analysis in the Long Telegram and “X” article. China’s rise, Europe’s decline, Russia’s revival, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, the spread of Islamic radicalism, and the relative shift in power from Europe to Asia present a challenge to what Walter Russell Mead has called the Anglo-American maritime world order that has broadly organized the global geopolitical environment since the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Does China Think America Is in Decline?
 (2016-01-28)
(The National Interest, By Lyle J. Goldstein) There was a time during the Cold War when Americans probably understood China much better than Chinese understood America. That time is long past. Today, no one should be surprised that there is significant disagreement among Chinese experts concerning the admittedly complex question of America’s future development.
DPP Searches for New China Stance; Cross-Strait Issues
Policy Toward Taiwan 'unchanged,' Say the Mainland Authorities (2016-01-27)
(China Post) Mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office stated that policy toward the island would remain "unchanged" following national elections leading to a resounding Democratic Progressive Party victory on Jan. 16.
Beijing Policy Toward ROC Remains Unchanged: Mainland Official (2016-01-31)
(CNA) Zhang Zhijun, head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said he hoped that in the new year, cross-Taiwan Strait relations will continue to move forward along the path of peaceful development based on the common political foundation of the "1992 Consensus."
Academic Urges Tsai Not Pick 'Easy Way' in Dealing with China (2016-01-26)
(CNA) DPP lawmaker Huang Wei-che said his party, its previous leaders and Tsai herself have moved from a staunchly pro-independence stance toward a "centrist" or more moderate position, though its bottom line remains unchanged — that Taiwan is a "sovereign and independent country."
Tsai Ing-wen and Cross-Strait Tensions (2016-01-29)
(The Diplomat, By Michael Mazza) Assuming that Xi has no appetite for a full-blown crisis – one that could draw the United States and Taiwan closer together – the Chinese president will eventually have to deal Tsai Ing-wen.

Vice Premier Urges Tsai to Back China Trade Pact
 (2016-01-30)
(Taipei Times) Vice Premier and soon-to-be premier Simon Chang said that president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s attitude would determine whether the negotiation for a cross-strait trade in goods agreement could continue, calling on Tsai to “recognize” the results so far achieved by the negotiation team.

Nation Still Trying to Contact Beijing Through Hotline: Acting Premier (2016-01-30)
(CNA) The hotline connecting officials in Taiwan and mainland China in charge of bilateral relations is still in place, and efforts continue to be made to reach the head of the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, Acting Premier Simon Chang said.

Not Giving Chinese Students Health Coverage Uncivilized: President Ma (2016-01-30)
(CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou said that exchanges of students between Taiwan and mainland China contributed to peace in the area, and he lamented that mainland students studying in Taiwan are still not covered under Taiwan's national health insurance program.
Number of Overseas Students Hits 110,000 Last Year: MOE (2016-01-31)
(CNA) The number of foreign students rose by 16,537 last year to reach 110,182, and the MOE attributed it mainly to an increase of 7,000 Chinese students in Taiwan last year.
PLA
Can China Copy the U.S. Marine Corps? (2016-01-29)
(The National Interest, By Grant Newsham and Koh Swee Lean Collin) In recent years the PLAMC is not merely maintaining its readiness to mount an amphibious invasion across the Taiwan Strait (or conduct other operations in the context of the East and South China Sea disputes). Rather, it is bulking up in order to give the Chinese political leadership another flexible tool for responding to contingencies not just within China’s immediate East Asian region, but also beyond. 
Taiwan's Domestic Issues and Foreign Relations
President Appoints Simon Chang New Premier (2016-01-26)
(China Post) President Ma Ying-jeou appointed Vice Premier Simon Chang to head the Executive Yuan, more than a week after his predecessor Mao Chi-kuo resigned following national elections on Jan. 16.

Respect New Caretaker Cabinet: Tsai
 (2016-01-27)
(China Post) Gearing up for the new legislative session next week, President-elect and Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen called for respect of the caretaker government and the outcome of the DPP's speakership election at a party caucus meeting.
New President Faces Big Economic Issues: Expert (2016-01-27)
(Taipei Times) An academic said the next president would face four major economic difficulties: “adjustments to the industrial structure”; “regional economic integration”; “development of domestic demand”; and “real-wage increases.”

Local Economic Growth in 2015 Lowest in 6 Years
 (2016-01-30)
(China Post) On the back of worse-than-expected exports and domestic consumption, the government tuned down Taiwan's 2015 GDP growth to 0.85 percent, the lowest figure in six years.
Gov't to Promote TPP Bid 'According to Schedule' (2016-01-30)
(CNA) Acting Premier Simon Chang said that government agencies must submit on schedule by the end of March a first batch of legal amendments needed to facilitate Taiwan's entry into the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc.

Senate Bill Urges Interpol Participation for Taiwan
 (2016-01-30)
(Taipei Times, By William Lowther) The top Democrat in the US Senate committee called for ‘quick’ action and said the Department of State backs Taiwan for observer status.

US Envoy for Human and LGBTI Rights Set to Visit (2016-01-30)
(CNA) Randy Berry, the special United States envoy for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex persons, is scheduled to visit Taiwan from Sunday, according to the American Institute in Taiwan.
China's Rise and Its Domestic Issues
The Key to Understanding China's Economy: Its Politics (2016-01-25)
(The National Interest, By Elizabeth C. Economy) None of this is to say that economic reform in China won’t happen. But it will reflect all the messy and painful politics that plague any country trying to overhaul its economy, and then some.

Inquiry in China Adds to Doubt Over Reliability of Its Economic Data (2016-01-27)
(New York Times, By Keith Bradsher) The veracity of China’s economic data has been increasingly questioned as the slowing pace of the country’s growth has startled the world. And a new investigation into the official who oversees the numbers is unlikely to inspire confidence.
The Dollars and Cents of China's Superpower Fortunes (2016-01-31)
(The National Interest, By Kyle Churchman) Johns Hopkins sociology professor Ho-fang Hung argues that China cannot escape this so-called “dollar trap” given its equities in the current system, and thus will not seek to challenge the United States geopolitically.
Currency War: U.S. Hedge Funds Mount New Attacks on China's Yuan (2016-01-31)
(Wall Street Journal, By Juliet Chung and Carolyn Cui) Some of the biggest names in the hedge-fund industry are piling up bets against China’s currency, setting up a showdown between Wall Street and the leaders of the world’s second-largest economy.

In Book, Xi Jinping Taints Ousted Rivals with Talk of Plots (2016-01-28)
(New York Times, By Didi Kirsten Tatlow) The reveal of a book containing the first public and official declaration by President Xi Jinping of “political plot activities” by senior Communist Party officials “to wreck and split the party” — code words for a coup attempt, was a signal that the challenge was over, that the party had agreed on what happened and that Mr. Xi wanted people to know that he had overcome his adversaries.
Memory and History: Forging China's Identity (2016-01-27)
(The Diplomat, By Mercy A. Kuo and Angelica O. Tang) China needs to think about what the post-war experience meant in Asia. In large part, it was a period of consolidation of nation-states. By supporting the development of a region of strong, cooperative neighbors, China would be better able to create a regional order that would serve its interests in peace and stability.
Contact: Dalton Lin, Executive Editor
Previous