MEDIA REACTION: SIX-PARTY TALKS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000401

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - LLOYD NEIGHBORS
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: SIX-PARTY TALKS



1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused
coverage February 16 on the ruling by the Taipei District Court in
former PFP Chairman James Soong's slander suit against President
Chen Shui-bian, who had claimed that Soong met with China's Taiwan
Affairs Office Director Chen Yunlin in the United States in 2005.
The court found that President Chen's remarks were based on
unverified information, and ordered him to pay Soong NT$3 million
[US$92.3 thousand approx.] in compensation and to post an apology on
the front pages of three major newspapers: the Liberty Times, the
China Times, and the United Daily News.


2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in the
centrist, pro-status quo "China Times" focused on the establishment
of the Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism outlined February
13 in the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks. The analysis
founded that the establishment of the mechanism is in the interest
of every party to the Talks. End summary.


3. "Will there be a Peace and Security Mechanism in Northeast
Asia?"

A column in the centrist, pro-status quo "China Times" [circulation:
400,000] said (02/16):

"In the 'February 13 Joint Statement' of the 'Six-Party Talks,' all
the parties agreed to establish five working groups --
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Normalization of DPRK-US
Relations, Normalization of DPRK-Japan Relations, Economy and Energy
Cooperation, and a Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism -- to
carry out the initial actions and to fully implement the Joint
Statement.

"The Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism is listed as the
last working group, but this is a very important foreshadowing.
This is because when the four other tasks are completed, or near
their completion, a mechanism is needed to secure these
accomplishments and to incorporate politics, economics, diplomacy,
and military security for long-term purposes. Isn't it another
version of the 'Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe'?

"China is surely the country that proposed the motion, and the
motion must be in the interests of China. But what are China's
interests? China's interests are to develop its economy and
strengthen its national power when the peripheral environment is
stable, and peace and stability in Northeast Korea can safeguard
this advantageous environment.

"After several rounds of the Six-Party Talks, one successful joint
announcement and one joint statement have given China a major role
in using its good offices for peace and stability in the Korean
Peninsula. These achievements also prove that China has the
capability of doing so. If China further carries out tasks
involving peace and security in Northeast Asia, no country would
oppose it. China will not play a major role, but it has the most
powerful influence, just like its role in the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization.

"What are the reactions from other countries on this matter? With
regard to the United States, the future of the Korean Peninsula is
unpredictable. Since North Korea possesses nuclear weapons, it is
impossible for it to abandon them. The future development between
South Korea and North Korea is also subtle. Any confrontation
between China and Japan is not in the interests of the United
States. A peace and security mechanism in Northeast Asia would
allow the United States to avoid several risks, and let the U.S.
deal with matters in other regions.

"If North Korea is allowed to keep its nuclear weapons, this
mechanism would be very advantageous to the country, since the
mechanism can end North Korea's isolation. South Korea could also
carry out South-North reconciliation under this framework, and march
towards unification of the Korean Peninsula.

"Russia does not have a position on getting involved in matters in
Northeast Asia. It is everything Russia hopes for if the country
can get involved through the mechanism. With regard to Japan, its
major strategy is to keep its close alliance with the United States.
On the basis of this mechanism, there are more advantages than
disadvantages to Japan in participation in a peripheral peace
mechanism."

YOUNG