MEDIA REACTION: PENTAGON'S REPORT ON PRC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 003085

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD -
ROBERT PALLADINO
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PENTAGON'S REPORT ON PRC
MILITARY POWER


1. Summary: The Taipei dailies gave significant
coverage July 21 to the Pentagon's annual report on the
military power of the People's Republic of China
(released Tuesday in DC). All the major Chinese-
language newspapers in Taiwan reported on the contents
of the report on their front and first few pages but
approached the topic from different angles. The pro-
independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest daily,
ran a banner headline on its front page that read:
"United States: China does not yet have the ability to
attack Taiwan. The newspaper also carried a news story
on the third page with the headline: "The United States
informed Taiwan before it publicized the report on
China's military power." The sub-headline added:
"Taiwan and the United States have smooth communication
channels. Taiwan will soon finalize its National
Security Report, which will help to form a big
international strategy of joint defense." The pro-
independence "Taiwan Daily" printed on its front page a
story with the headline: "The United States estimates
that China dares not attack Taiwan rashly." Both the
centrist "China Times" and pro-unification "United
Daily News" carried similar headlines on their front
pages that said the Pentagon report shows that the
balance of power in the Taiwan Strait is tilting toward
Beijing.


2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a "Liberty
Times" editorial used the Pentagon report as evidence
that Taiwan needs to pass the special arms procurement
bill currently stuck at the Legislative Yuan. A "China
Times" commentary said the report indicated that the
United States is very concerned about China's military
threat. A "Taiwan Daily" editorial said the report
shows that China's warmongering is not merely an
attempt to intimidate Taiwan but is also meant to be a
show of force for the United States and its allies in
the region. Chinese Council for Advanced Policy
Studies Secretary-General Andrew Yang noted in an op-ed
piece in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" that the
Pentagon report suggests that "time" has become the
most important factor for Washington, Beijing and
Taipei in terms of their military buildup and combat
readiness. An editorial of the limited-circulation,
pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times,"
however, said in the face of China's military threat,
Taiwan must not count so heavily on the aid of its
allies and should acquire the means to defense itself
effectively. End summary.

A) "Can the Opposition Parties Continue to Boycott the
Arms Procurement Budget? - The Alertness One Should
Have from the Pentagon's `2005 Annual Report on PRC's
Military Power"

The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation:
800,000] said in an editorial (7/21):

". Therefore, whether China will use a hard or soft
strategy against Taiwan, the way for Taiwan to defend
itself is to strengthen its national defense and
psychological defense. However, the most worrisome
[thing] is that Taiwan's defensive capabilities are
clearly declining, and there is the trend of Taiwan's
reducing and China's increasing military powers,
[while] the opposition parties still boycott the arms
procurement legislation without considering the
security and well-being of Taiwan's 22 million people.
Psychological defenses can break China's soft strategy.
But as for its hard strategy, we must rely on powerful
national defense to deter the enemy's rash moves. Lien
Chan is stepping down. The Pan-Blue Camp's KMT
Chairman-elected Ma Ying-jeou and Legislative Yuan
President Wang Jin-pyng should give up the boycott
strategy and promote the adoption of the arms
procurement legislation as early as possible. Or else,
does this small group of Pan-Blue politicians want
Taiwan's armed forces to fight against the Chinese
hegemony and defend our country by using `bamboo poles
and kitchen knives' [primitive weapons]?"

B) "The United States Is Worried About China's `Non-
peaceful' Rise"

Journalist Chi Le-yi wrote in the centrist, pro-status
quo "China Times" [circulation: 600,000] (7/21):

"It is a little surprising that the `Annual Report on
the Military Power of the People's Republic of China'
released by the United States describes China as very
frightening. The report states that China's threat is
not only aimed at Taiwan, but also at regional
security. Even the United States itself needs to be
careful. China's `non-peaceful' rise is pressuring the
United States so hard that it seems that the United
States will soon become breathless.

"`Is China an enemy or a friend?' This is a vital
proposition for long-term U.S. observations of China's
developments. However, there has not been any definite
conclusion. In 2002, President Bush released the
`National Security Strategy' report, which described
China as `a potential great power in an internal
transitional period.' The United States was then quite
confident in those developments and looked forward to
reaching a consensus with China on relevant global
affairs. Now the general pictures of the U.S. and
Chinese situations have not changed. But its worth
pondering over the intention for the United States to
have stepped up its emphasis on the `China threat'
theory. ."

C) "The Whole World Has Seen That China's Warmongering
Is Not Only Meant to Intimidate Taiwan but also to Make
a Show of Force to the United States and Its Allies in
the Asia-Pacific Region"

The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" [circulation:
150,000] editorialized (7/21):

". Judged by this [i.e. the Pentagon's annual report on
the PRC's military power], China's active strengthening
of its military modernization in recent years was not
merely meant to intimidate Taiwan but also an attempt
to make a show of force for the United States and its
allies in the Asia-Pacific region. This newspaper
believes that while seeking to befriend the Beijing
government to jointly daunt North Korea's nuclear
weapons proliferation, Washington must not lower its
guard against China's unscrupulous moves to expand its
military buildup. .

". In particular, given the fact that the globalizing
economic system has helped many Chinese people create
their fortunes and improve their living standards, it
will be very difficult for the Beijing government to
convince its people to support its attack against
Taiwan. This newspaper believes that Taiwan
businessmen all over China should exercise their
relationships and influence to convey to the Chinese
people the universal values of viewing economic
development and peace as top priorities. The ruling
and opposition parties in Taiwan, on the other hand,
must bear in mind a bigger picture of the [world]
situation and the principle of `competition better than
conflicts,' so that Beijing will not get a wrong
message and mistakenly believe that it can patronize
the `pro-China' power in Taiwan. Moreover, the
international community, including the EU, should not
unrealistically expect that the Chinese government
would resolve the cross-Strait issue via `peaceful
dialogue.' The international community should engage
itself in a pragmatic understanding and identification
of Taiwan's strategic position in an attempt to
maintain peace in the Asia-Pacific region and not let
it be sabotaged by China's military expansion."

D) "Messages Manifested by the Report on PRC's Military
Power"

Andrew Yang, Secretary-General of the Chinese Council
for Advanced Policy Studies, commented in an op-ed
piece of the mass-circulation "Apple Daily"
[circulation: 500,000] (7/21):

". When compared with the [Pentagon's] reports released
in previous years, this year's report on the PRC
military power carried a few characteristics:

"First, the wording [in this year's report] in
describing the PRC's strategic intentions and military
strength is more precise; there is hardly any ambiguous
or speculative phrasing. On the surface, the Pentagon
emphasized that its data collection of the PRC military
intelligence was incomplete, but the report itself
revealed that the United States has managed to obtain
accurate knowledge of the PRC military intelligence.
The [U.S.] intention to contest [with China] privately
can be found between lines [in the report].

"Second, it is noteworthy that the United States
clearly believes that the PRC will seek to fight and
win short-duration, high-intensity conflicts across the
Taiwan Strait, and that the PRC's objective is to
prevent Taiwan's independence and to prevent possible
intervention [in China-Taiwan problems] by the United
States. In other words, the PRC has an obvious target
in mind when proceeding with its military buildup. [It
is evident that] the biggest variable for military
attacks is `time,' and `time' has thus become the most
important factor for Washington, Beijing and Taipei in
terms of their military buildup and combat readiness.
."

E) "Pentagon's Warning No Surprise"

The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times"
[circulation: 30,000] noted in an editorial (7/21):

". [People's Liberation Army Major General] Zhu's
comments were typical of the Chinese military,
indicating the haughty and bellicose nature of the PLA.
The rising jingoism in China in recent years has gone
hand-in-hand with its military expansion. This has
warned the whole world that China's so-called `peaceful
rising' is anything but that. It is no surprise,
therefore, that a Pentagon report published on Tuesday
in Washington affirmed the rapid pace of China's
military expansion. .

"The threat that China now poses is an issue that
Taiwan and its neighbors need to resolve. In fact, it
concerns countries around the world. The EU certainly
must take a more responsible attitude in its
considerations over whether to lift its arms embargo on
China. It should stop focusing on the commercial
benefits of lifting the ban and do the responsible
thing to help ensure regional peace in Asia and the
rest of the world.

"As for the pan-blue camp, its members have simply
buried their heads in the sand as far as China's
military threat is concerned. Although they have long
refused to face reality, hopefully pressure from the US
and other nations will convince its leaders to
greenlight passage of the long-delayed special arms
purchase bill.

"In the face of China's military threat, Taiwan has no
choice but to acquire the means to defend itself
effectively. It must not always count so heavily on
the aid of its allies."

PAAL