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| South
China Sea Disputes
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China Lands First Military Plane on Disputed
Island (2016-04-19)
(AFP)
Beijing landed a military plane on a disputed South China Sea reef it has built
up into an artificial island, officials said yesterday, in the first
confirmation of such a flight.
Forecasting the Aftermath of a Ruling on China's Nine-Dash
Line (2016-04-20)
(Foreign
Policy, By Jerome A. Cohen) If all affected nations in the East China Sea and
the South China Sea “bombard the headquarters” in Beijing by taking their
international law disputes with China to international legal institutions —
rather than relying exclusively on endless, fruitless, and unequal bilateral
negotiations or American military gestures — there is hope for a
turnabout.
Singapore Wants New Rules to Defuse Asia's
Tensions (2016-04-21)
(The
Diplomat, By Prashanth Parameswaran) Asia needs to craft regional rules and
norms to defuse lingering tensions and safeguard the stability which has
undergirded its prosperity, Singapore’s defense minister stressed at a security
conference in Malaysia .
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| East
China Sea Disputes and Japan Policy
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Japan's Fighter Jets Intercepted Chinese Aircraft 571 Times in
2015 (2016-04-26)
(The
Diplomat, By Franz-Stefan Gady) The Japan Air-Self Defense Force had to dispatch
its fighter jets 571 times during fiscal year 2015 to intercept Chinese military
aircraft approaching or intruding Japanese airspace, Japan’s Defense Ministry
revealed.
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| U.S.
“Pivot” to Asia and Sino-U.S. Engagement
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Do the Obama Administration and PACOM Disagree on the South China
Sea? (2016-04-20)
(The
Diplomat, By Robert Farley) Whether or not the U.S. Navy conducts a patrol or an
“innocent passage,” and whether President Obama solicits the advice of PACOM on
operational minutiae, is quite frankly trivial in comparison to this larger
project. The core of U.S. strategy in the South China Sea, and more broadly in
East Asia, is to ensure that China continues to have few allies, and that those
few allies are of poor quality. Disputes over the ownership of man-made rocks
are secondary to this broader goal, a fact which Beijing seems not to
understand.
The One-Man Master Plan to Avoid War with China (2016-04-22)
(The
National Interest, By John Richard Cookson) Before Xi has consolidated power in
next year’s Nineteenth Party Congress, the Chinese leader will be more
vulnerable to the influence and pressures of the military and the outside world
if foreign policy crises occur.
US State Dep't Official Mentions Taiwan As Part of Obama's
Asia Policy (2016-04-24)
(CNA)
Daniel R. Russel, assistant secretary with the State Department's Bureau of East
Asian and Pacific Affairs, stresses that "China policy is a subset of our Asia
policy, and not the other way around."
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| DPP
Searches for New China Stance; Cross-Strait Issues
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Prospects for Cross-Strait Relations As Tsai Ing-wen Assumes the
Presidency in Taiwan (2016-04-22)
(CSIS,
By Bonnie S. Glaser) Although Tsai has taken steps to provide reassurances to
Beijing, she has not yet satisfied Chinese demands. This report outlines three
possible scenarios for relations between Taiwan and the Mainland in the near
term and provides policy recommendations for the United States.
Pac100 Interview with Robert Sutter (2016-04-21)
(TSR,
Kristian McGuire) Pac100’s Kristian
McGuire** speaks with Robert Sutter,
Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the Elliott School of George
Washington University, about Taiwan and China’s current impasse over the “1992
Consensus”, the future of U.S.-Taiwan relations and more in this interview.
WHA Invitation Not Received: Ministry (2016-04-20)
(CNA)
Taiwan has yet to receive an invitation to attend this year’s session of the
World Health Assembly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
said.
Taiwan Rejected from OECD (2016-04-20)
(Taipei
Times, By Stacy Hsu and Alison Hsiao) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday
said that Taiwan has lodged a stern protest with China, the Belgian government
and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development after a Taiwanese
delegation was requested to leave a conference in Belgium due to Chinese
pressure.
Delegation Arrives in Beijing to Discuss Fraud
Case (2016-04-21)
(Taipei
Times, By Jason Pan) A government delegation headed by Ministry of Justice
officials arrived in Beijing and was greeted by Chinese officials before going
to talks dealing with 45 Taiwanese deported from Kenya to China over allegations
of telecommunications fraud.
Taipei, Beijing to Jointly Probe Cross-Border Fraud
Rings (2016-04-22)
(CNA)
Officials of Taiwan and China have agreed to jointly investigate telecom fraud
rings run by Taiwanese in Kenya and Malaysia that have allegedly targeted
Chinese citizens, the head of a Taiwanese official delegation
said.
Let the People Be the Judge, Says Outgoing Taiwan President Ma
Ying-jeou (2016-04-23)
(Strait
Times, By Li Xueying) Pressed on the question on being more liked on the
mainland, Ma makes the point that any cross-strait policy "needs to be accepted
by the mainland side as well".
Q&A of the Strait Times' Interview with Taiwan President Ma
Ying-jeou (2016-04-21)
(Strait
Times) With a month to go before Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou leaves office, he
sits down with Senior Regional Correspondent Li Xueying for an exclusive
interview at the presidential palace in Taipei.
A New Perspective on Taiwan-China Relations (2016-04-20)
(The
Diplomat, By Gerrit van der Wees) What would be a viable way forward for Taiwan?
What do the people of Taiwan want for their future? In this context it must be
emphasized that the rejection of Ma’s policies was not per se an anti-China
movement: it was much more of a pro-Taiwan movement dedicated to preserving the
hard-won freedom and democracy in Taiwan.
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| PLA
and Military Balance
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China Flight Tests Multiple Warhead Missile Capable of Hitting All
of US (2016-04-20)
(The
Diplomat, By Franz-Stefan Gady) The latest test appears to confirm that the
missile is nearing operational status and could be deployed within the next
three years. U.S. intelligence agencies estimate that the DF-41 can carry up to
ten 150-300 kiloton yield thermonuclear warheads per missile and that it is
capable of targeting the entire continental United States.
Military Research Unit Begins Fighter Engine Development
Project (2016-04-19)
(China
Post, By Joseph Yeh) The military's top research unit on Monday disclosed that a
project to produce Taiwan-made fighter jet engines is underway amid the incoming
Democratic Progressive Party's push to prioritize Taiwan's defense
industry.
Experts Advise on Defense As Threat from China
Rises (2016-04-19)
(Taipei
Times) Academics and lawmakers underlined the need for the nation to build up
its submarine, cyberspace and fighter jet capabilities to defend
itself.
Taiwanese Navy Plans to Enhance Fleet Air Defense (2016-04-21)
(China
Brief 16(7), Jamestown Foundation, By Yen-fan Liao and Michal Thim) While the
debate on the future role of the ROCN in defense of Taiwan should not be reduced
to a “big ship versus small ship” debate, the logic ditching large surface
platforms in exchange for more survivable smaller ships is hard to deny.
Challenges facing ROCN would not end with a desirable turn to sea denial
small-ship based fleet with a doctrine more befitting of Taiwan’s conditions.
Even a sea denial fleet would face problems with over-the-horizon targeting and
survivability under the conditions of PLA Air Force’s near air-supremacy.
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| Taiwan's
Domestic Issues and Foreign Relations
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Tsai to Face 'Largest-ever Challenges' As
President (2016-04-24)
(China
Post) Hu Sheng-cheng, a member of the Academia Sinica, said after taking power
on May 20, Tsai's government should carefully tackle five major domestic
challenges, namely low salaries, uneven distribution of incomes, youth
unemployment, annuity reform and improving the reliability of local
utilities.
US Resolution Reaffirms TRA, ‘Six
Assurances’ (2016-04-22)
(Taipei
Times, By William Lowther) The “six assurances” had been a verbal pledge and the
resolution solidified the commitment in legislation for the first time, US
Representative Brad Sherman said.
United States-Taiwan Business Council Leaders to Visit the
ROC (2016-04-19)
(CNA)
High on the delegation's agenda will be Taiwan's participation in the Round-2
talks for joining Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Can't Say No to US Pork: COA Chief-Designated (2016-04-23)
(China
Post, By Stephanie Chao) Council of Agriculture Minister-designate Tsao Chi-hung
faced criticism from the current government and local farmers over his comments
on the inevitability of opening up Taiwan to ractopamine-laced U.S.
pork.
Tsai and Her Plans for a Pivot to the South (2016-04-24)
(Taipei
Times, By Hugh Chen) Taiwan’s priority should be to improve its bilateral
relationships with ASEAN and use these as an opportunity for a breakthrough when
pushing for integration into the region. ASEAN affairs are highly complex and
China’s “coordinating country” approach deserves consideration.
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| China's
Rise and Its Domestic Issues
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China's President, Xi Jinping, Gains a New Title: Commander in
Chief (2016-04-22)
(Sinosphere,
By Austin Ramzy) Mr. Xi, who is general secretary of the Chinese Communist
Party, is also chairman of the Central Military Commission. On Wednesday, a new
title was unveiled in the state and party news media: commander in chief of the
joint battle command center.
Is China's Authoritarianism Decaying into Personalized
Rule? (2016-04-24)
(East
Asia Forum, By Carl Minzner) Many of China’s centralising trends are not really
about building up institutions. Rather, they are about seizing control of
bureaucratic apparatuses for the exercise of personalised rule. Concentrating
power in the hands of a single individual should not be confused with the
institutionalisation of authoritarian rule.
China's Legalist Revival (2016-04-20)
(The
National Interest, By David K. Schneider) Recent trends in Chinese politics
argue for a new look at an ancient political philosophy that has never been far
from the center of Chinese political thought and
practice—Legalism.
Revealed: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's First
Projects (2016-04-20)
(The
Diplomat, By Ankit Panda) Assuaging concerns that these projects reflect Chinese
geopolitical priorities in line with the One Belt, One Road initiative to expand
infrastructure and connectivity to China’s west, these initial projects feature
AIIB financing complementing and coordinating with other development
banks.
How China Sees World Order (2016-04-20)
(The
National Interest, By Richard Fontaine and Mira Rapp-Hooper) At a moment when
China is transgressing some of those rules and establishing alternative
institutions, it is worth looking closely at the assumptions that have
undergirded U.S. policy.
China Power Project (2016-04-21)
(China
Power, CSIS) ChinaPower provides an in-depth understanding of the evolving
nature of Chinese power relative to other countries. The project examines five
interrelated categories of Chinese power: military, economic, technological,
social, and international image. Through objective analysis and data
visualization, ChinaPower unpacks the complexity of China’s
rise.
The Legacy of China's One-Child Policy (2016-04-20)
(The
Diplomat, By Young China Watcher) I’m astonished by the number of people who
don’t know much about the policy and have come to erroneous conclusions. One of
the big overarching myths is that the one-child policy helped China economically
and helped the world ecologically and environmentally.
Timing of Editor's Firing Has Hong Kong Worried about Press
Freedom (2016-04-21)
(New
York Times, By Michael Forsythe and Alan Wong) A top editor at one of Hong
Kong’s most prestigious newspapers was fired after the publication of a front
page devoted to a single story: the offshore holdings uncovered by the Panama
Papers of some of the city’s tycoons, celebrities and
politicians.
Contact:
Dalton Lin, Executive Editor
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