Pages

▼

Sunday, 22 July 2012


Weekly Report from Taiwan Security Research (Jul. 22, 2012)
For full text, click on the title or visit the TSR web page at taiwansecurity.org
Bo Xilai Scandal and China's Leadership Succession
Architect Tied to Scandal Is returning to China
(New York Times, Jul. 19, 2012) A French architect who has an apparent connection to a political scandal in China has agreed to return to that country after Cambodia released him from custody at Beijing’s request, Cambodian officials said.
China Holds Frenchman Linked to Scandal
(Wall Street Journal, Jul. 20, 2012) A French architect caught up in the scandal surrounding Bo Xilai was taken into custody in China after returning there from Cambodia.
China’s Security Chief Still on the Job? By William Kazer(China Real Time Report, Jul. 19, 2012) From appearances at least, China’s security chief Zhou Yongkang seems to be firmly in the saddle.
China’s Communist Elders Take Backroom Intrigue Beachside By Edward Wong and Jonathan Ansfield (New York Times, Jul. 22, 2012) It is palace intrigue by the sea. In their guarded villas, current and past leaders will negotiate to try to place allies in the 25-member Politburo and its elite Standing Committee, at the top of the party hierarchy.
As China Talks of Change, Fear Rises on the Risks By Michael Wines (New York Times, Jul. 18, 2012) A small coterie of children of China’s founding elites who favor deeper political and economic change had come to debate the need for a new direction under the next generation of Communist Party leaders.
Huntsman Lays Out Views on China’s New Leadership
(Taipei Times, Jul. 18, 2012) A “sensible cross-strait policy” is in the interest of both sides of the Taiwan Strait, while Chinese leaders will realize that change is inevitable, former US ambassador to Beijing Jon Huntsman said.
South China Sea Disputes
Taiwan Considers Extending Runway in Spratlys: Source
(AFP, Jul. 16, 2012) Taiwan is considering extending the runway on the contested Spratly island in a move that could provoke fresh tensions in the heavily disputed South China Sea, media reported.
Academics Visit Disputed Spratlys
(AFP, Jul. 17, 2012) A group of Taiwanese academics has visited the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, defense officials said.
Taiwan Asserts S. China Sea Sovereignty with Weather Info
(CNA, Jul. 18, 2012) Taiwan has begun publishing weather information for the Pratas Islands and Spratly Islands on its official weather website as part of efforts to assert sovereignty over the disputed South China Sea region, an official said.
MOFA Dismisses Hanoi’s Call to Stop Project in Taiping
(Taipei Times, Jul. 22, 2012) Vietnam is in no position to question the Republic of China’s plan to extend the runway on Taiping Island in the contested South China Sea because the country has sovereignty over the area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Fishy China Fleet Hits Spratlys; US Supports Manila
(AFP, Jul. 17, 2012) A big fleet of Chinese fishing vessels arrived at the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, state media said, amid tensions with its neighbors over rival claims to the area.
China Gets Its Catch, Hook, Line and Sinker By Peter Hartcher(Sydney Morning Herald, Jul. 17, 2012) In the past few days China has made new deployments of ships to contested waters in South China Sea, but its greatest success has been in the diplomatic conference halls of the region.
ASEAN Stumbles in Phnom Penh By Don Emmerson(PacNet #45, Pacific Forum, CSIS, Jul. 19, 2012) It is not too early to speculate that, for China, the outcome amounts to an immediate victory that could prove tenuous in the longer run.
ASEAN Approaches Consensus on Sea Row: Indonesia
(AFP, Jul. 20, 2012) Southeast Asian nations are “on the cusp” of agreeing a statement of unity on the South China Sea dispute, Indonesia's top diplomat said after meeting his Cambodian counterpart.
U.S. "Pivot" and Sino-U.S. Engagement
US’ Pacific Pivot a Campaign Tactic By Malcolm Fraser(Project Syndicate, Jul. 16, 2012) These are dangerous days, not only economically, but also strategically. We really do need to ask whether Obama is trying to play a China card to shift the electoral scales in his favor. If that is his intention, it is a move fraught with great danger.
Much Heat Has Gone Out of Taiwan Issue: Hadley By William Lowther (Taipei Times, Jul. 19, 2012) Former US national security adviser Stephen Hadley said that “a lot of the heat” had gone out of what he called “the Taiwan issue.”
Diaoyutai Disputes Resurface
Taiwan, China Will Not Collaborate on Tiaoyutais: Foreign Ministry
(CNA, Jul. 19, 2012) Taiwan will not work with China to resolve the sovereignty dispute over the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, even though a recent poll shows that over half of the respondents.
Japan Tests China’s Eastern Flank By Brendan O’Reilly(Asia Times, Jul. 18, 2012) Japan's slow-motion political crisis, the leadership transition in Beijing, and the upcoming election in the US nearly guarantee the perpetuation of a purely symbolic conflict. Global economic woes are an additional incentive to avoid unpredictable adventurism.
Cross-Strait Issues
Chinese Investment in Taiwan Jumps Fourfold in First Half
(CNA, Jul. 20, 2012) Chinese investors pumped US$122.17 million into Taiwan in the first half of 2012, an annual rise of 464 percent, according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
PLA，Military Balance and Arms Sales
Missile Shield May Spark PRC Nuclear Weapons Upgrade
(Reuters, Jul. 20, 2012) China may need to modernize its nuclear arsenal to respond to the destabilizing effect of a planned US-backed missile defense system, a senior Chinese military officer said.
Taiwan Signs F-16A/B Jet Upgrade Contract with US
(CNA, Jul. 17, 2012) Taiwan has recently signed a proposal by the United States to retrofit the country's aging F-16A/B jet fighters to seal the arms sales deal, the Air Force said.
US-Taiwan Business Council Calls for Plan to Fill Post-2016 Air Defense Gap (China Post, Jul. 20, 2012) The U.S.-Taiwan Business Council urged Taipei and Washington to immediately come up with measures to solve the grave state facing Taiwan's Air Force after 2016, when some of the country's F-16A/Bs will be undergoing retrofitting.
Taiwan's Domestic Issues and Foreign Relations
Ma Touts FTAs As Way to Revive Flagging Economy
(Taipei Times, Jul. 22, 2012) President Ma Ying-jeou pledged to speed up trade liberalization and raise the nation’s international competitiveness by seeking to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership within the next eight years and signing free-trade agreements with major trade partners.
China's Rise and Its Domestic Issues
Beijing Plays Up the Carrot While Still Wielding the Stick By Willy Lam (China Brief 12(14), Jamestown Foundation, Jul. 19, 2012) The relatively swift resolution of the protests in Shifang in southwestern Sichuan Province could mark a turning point in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) administration’s handling of the estimated 150,000 or so cases of mass incidents that erupt every year.
After the Global Economic Bloodbath, New Winners Are Emerging By Dani Rodrik (Project Syndicate, Jul. 20, 2012) As the world economy’s goalpost shift, some countries will have an advantage—especially those with low public debt, reliable domestic demand and democracy.
at