MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-TAIWAN ARMS SALES

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001030 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-TAIWAN ARMS SALES ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage July 12-14 on the alleged telephone conversation between U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Taiwan's National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi at the end of June; on eight Taiwan businessmen who went missing in a shipwreck in the waters off Madagascar; and on President Ma Ying-jeou's planned August visit to Latin American with transit stops in the United States. The pro-unification "United Daily News" on July 12 had a banner headline on page four saying that "the White House Phoned Su Chi: Several Items of the Arms Sales Are Frozen." Both the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" and the pro-independence "Liberty Times" followed up the news on July 13 and devoted more than half of a page reporting on the circumstance of the arms sales between Taiwan and the United States. ¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the "Liberty Times" lashed out at the Ma Administration's alleged inferiority complex toward China and the delay of U.S. arms procurements. The article said it would be a disaster for Taiwan if the Ma Administration continues leaning toward China and giving up its self-defense capabilities. An op-ed in the "China Times" reasoned that the United States is still leaving the door open for Taiwan to procure arms. Therefore, Taiwan should implement state-of-the-art POLITICAL negotiation skills to make the United States understand Taiwan's determination to defend itself as well as maintain long-term amicable RELATIONS with the United States. End summary. A) "With an Inferior Mentality Which Regards China as Its Savior, How Is [Taiwan] Able to Talk about Its National Defense?" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 700,000] editorialized (7/14): "...It goes without saying that the truth regarding the United States' decision to shelve its arms sales to Taiwan must be probed clearly and the question regarding who should be held responsible for such a decision must be investigated and clarified. But all these remain minor details. What one really needs to look into is: What are the national identity, international strategy and foreign policy direction of the new administration which assumed office [in May]? The key to this question hinges on the new administration's cross-Strait policy direction. In other words, since President Ma assumed office, the introduction of China's power [into Taiwan] has been the only panacea he has been relying on to solve all the political, economic or diplomatic problems he runs into, including the commodity price hikes and the plunging stock index on the island. ... Under such circumstances in which China is regarded as superior while Taiwan is inferior, the answer to the question of who in the world it is who hopes Washington would shelve its arms sales to Taiwan so as to avoid irritating China, thereby sabotaging [Taiwan's] engagement with China, is already self-evident." B) "In the Talk of Freezing the Arms Sales" Professor Edward Chen of Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of American Studies opined in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] (7/14): "... From the circumstance that the United States released various pieces of information via different channels [regarding the arms sales between the United States and Taiwan], the purpose of the United States should be that, it hopes the Ma Administration will declare its position on arms sales formally, instead of shutting out its arms sales to Taiwan. The reasons are as follows: "First, AIT Director Stephen Young has been keeping close contact with senior officials both in Taiwan's Blue and Green camps and has spared no efforts to promote [U.S.-Taiwan] arms sales. To say that a major misunderstanding exists between Taiwan and the United States regarding the issue of arms sales would be a major insult to Young. When Ma was inaugurated [on May 20], the United States sent envoy Andrew Card to lead a congratulatory delegation. AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt also had visited Taiwan twice after Ma was elected President. [The United States] should have a comprehensive understanding regarding the Ma Administration's determination to increase the defense budget to three percent of [Taiwan's] GDP and the Administration's position on arms procurement. "Second, when [Taiwan's former President] Chen Shui-bian was in power, [the DPP government] bundled the three most expensive items of the arms procurement (the submarines, the P-3C anti-submarine aircraft, and the PAC-3 missiles) as a package. The DPP also threatened to sell the country's assets and wanted to issue government bonds [to raise money for the procurement]. Legislators of the Blue camp were therefore forced to oppose [the arms procurement from the United States]. This still makes many people in the United States misconstrue the Blue camp as being opposed to the arms procurement. The arms procurement was finally approved in [Taiwan's] Legislative Yuan after the ruling and opposition parties communicated several times in the latter stages, reaching consensus to cut down the amount of the arms procurement and budget it year by year. It is impossible for the United States not to have any idea about the arms procurement budget that the Legislative Yuan has approved. The United States must understand that the approval of the arms procurement budget is legally binding. "Moreover, during the time when Chen promoted the referendum for Taiwan to enter the United Nations, the Bush Administration indeed refused to sell Taiwan F-16 C/D fighter jets and froze the arms sales for fear that the cooperation between the United States and China to resolve the North Korean nuclear weapons issue would be jeopardized. Now, as the situation has changed, since the United States hopes for Taiwan to strengthen its national defense, it should not freeze arms sales to Taiwan. Otherwise, what does the Ma Administration's increase of the defense budget mean? ... "According to precedent, if the United States has made decisions, it only needs to inform Taiwan and does not need to give Taiwan any opportunity to explain. Now, the United States not only allows the Ma Administration to send senior national security officials as well as diplomatic and national defense officials to attend U.S.-Taiwan senior-level military talks to be held in Monterey, California, starting July 14, but [the United States] also agrees to allow the delegation of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan to visit Washington, D.C. at the end of July to meet United States national security and national defense officials. This demonstrates that the United States is still leaving a small door open with regard to the issue of arms sales. ..." YOUNG