MEDIA REACTION: CHINA

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001623 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - BROOKE SPELLMAN DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CHINA Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused July 19 news coverage on the 2008 presidential poll, on KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's special mayoral fund case, on the rising living costs in Taiwan along with the ever-soaring oil prices, and on the plane crash in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday. All papers also carried in their inside pages reports on the Taiwan Department of Health, which confirmed Wednesday that imported U.S. pork found to contain a feed additive has been banned locally; and on AIT's response on this matter. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an op-ed in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" discussed the national security reports recently released by Australia and Japan, respectively. The article said China has become a hypothetical enemy to the United States, Japan and Australia as the progress of China's military modernization has exceeded the capability Beijing requires to deal with the cross-Strait issues. End summary. "China Has Become a Hypothetical Enemy to the United States, Japan and Australia" Emerson Chang, director of Nan Hua University's Department of International Studies, opined in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] (7/19): "... China will certainly take actions to address the threats initiated by the security cooperation among the United States, Japan and Australia, and to respond to the unclear direction India and Indonesia will take in the future. The chances are slim for China to slow down its military modernization process because China always regards the pressure imposed by all these great powers as a natural but undesirable consequence of it military modernization. China will surely continue its double-faced strategy toward the United States and Japan -- namely, it will work with the two countries diplomatically but compete with them in terms of the national defense capabilities. On the level of national defense, it is likely that China will continue strengthening its military buildup, expanding cooperation with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and deepening its strategic partnership with Russia. China and Russia are very compatible partners, because Russia also needs China's assistance in counterbalancing the security threats posed by NATO's eastward expansion and the United States' missile defense system deployed in East Europe. On a strategic level, in order to tackle the new situation, China may reconsider adjusting its 'string of pearls' strategy, which is designated to safeguard its energy transportation, and its 'anti-intervention' strategy, which is aimed at remotely deterring the U.S. military from intervening in the Taiwan Strait. ..." YOUNG