TAIWAN'S NATIONAL SECURITY REPORT ATTRACTS LIMITED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001755 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL TW SUBJECT: TAIWAN'S NATIONAL SECURITY REPORT ATTRACTS LIMITED ATTENTION Classified By: AIT Deputy Director David J. Keegan, Reasons: 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (SBU) Following approval by the National Security Council and President Chen, Taiwan published its first-ever National Security Report (NSR) on May 20. The 162-page report is divided into a preface by President Chen and five parts: an introduction, Taiwan's security environment, internal and external threats to national security, national security strategies, and a conclusion. The report takes an encyclopedic approach to "comprehensive security," addressing nine broad subjects in parts three and four: defense, maritime issues, foreign policy, economy, population (including immigration),ethnic relations and national identity, disaster response, information security, and cross-Strait relations. ¶2. (C) The NSR highlights three general themes: complaints about the "China threat," the changing international environment (including U.S. and Japanese strategy),and measures by Taiwan to protect its "dignity and sovereignty, survival and security, and prosperity and development." While there is extensive treatment of the PRC military threat, there is comparatively little on Taiwan's military preparations to counter this threat. The report is not entirely consistent as some of the various sections seem to reflect the viewpoints of different agencies or individuals. ¶3. (C) The report is as much about Chen's political agenda as it is about Taiwan's security. Topics covered include non-security issues such as constitutional reform, legislative gridlock, and the political confrontation between the pan-Blue and pan-Green. There is a heavy emphasis on using the report to assert and define Taiwan's sovereignty. According to the report, "The ROC is Taiwan." "The ROC is a sovereign and independent country; the sovereignty of this country is vested in the 23 million people of Taiwan; and only the 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to decide on any change to the future of Taiwan." "Our nation (Taiwan) is a maritime state with a land area of only 36,000 square kilometers. . ." In his preface, Chen talks about holding dialogue with the PRC under the "four great principles of sovereignty, democracy, peace, and equality." ¶4. (C) The section on Taiwan's policy toward cross-Strait relations is relatively positive. The NSR stresses that Taiwan does not intend to change the status quo, does not exclude any possible form of future cross-Strait relations, and will not deal with sovereignty issues during constitutional "reengineering." The report also states that Taiwan will further promote cross-Strait exchanges in economy, trade, culture, and academia, including charter cargo and passenger flights and visits by PRC tourists, and it proposes cross-Strait dialogue without preconditions based upon the foundations of the "achievements of the 1992 Hong Kong meeting." The NSR proposes to establish a cross-Strait military affairs hotline, military buffer zones, and a Taiwan Strait consultation mechanism" for military security. This section ends on a positive note: "We welcome China's stable development and we are willing to provide assistance as well as play a constructive role by sharing the 'Taiwan experience;' however, the international community must also collaborate in concerted efforts to ensure that the 'rise of China' is accompanied by 'peaceful emergence' and 'the beginning of democracy' - so as to create the necessary conditions for the safeguard of regional stability and world peace. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) The National Security Report has attracted relatively little interest in Taiwan, in part because attention here is focused heavily on fresh scandals that involve President Chen's son-in-law. Few people have bothered to read the lengthy and somewhat mind-numbing report. Some critics have complained that the NSR lacks new or practical ideas while others have criticized it for being a mish-mash of different and possibly conflicting views. Pan-Green politicians have TAIPEI 00001755 002 OF 002 been only slightly more positive in their brief comments on the report. YOUNG