MEDIA REACTION: NORTH KOREA, U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001199 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/P, EAP/PD - THOMAS HAMM DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: NORTH KOREA, U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage October 3-5 on Typhoon Parma, which is lingering south of Taiwan and bringing heavy rain to northern and eastern parts of the island; and on the island-wide celebrations of the Mid-autumn Festival Saturday. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" discussed Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Pyongyang in the wake of China's celebration of its 60th anniversary. The article said, in the long run, the nuclear weapons developed by Pyongyang will bring more distress to Beijing than to Washington. An editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" discussed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and urged the Obama administration "to give positive consideration to the 'timing' of selling advanced F-16 C/D fighters and other defensive-oriented weapons to Taiwan to strengthen Taiwan's negotiation power with China and ensure the protection of Taiwan's democracy and security." End summary. ¶2. North Korea "[Chinese Premier] Wen Jiabao Goes to North Korea to Pay the Bill" Columnist Antonio Chiang wrote in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] (10/5): "China has demonstrated its power during the celebrations of its 60th anniversary, and in the meantime it has revealed its lack of security. The stiff expression and the Mao suit worn by the Chinese leaders reminded people of North Korea rather than a rising superpower which is trying to embrace the world. It is interesting to note that immediately following China's celebration of its National Day, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao departed for Pyongyang for a three-day visit. Wen is there to pay the bill. North Korea is a burden for China's image, and also a burden for China's economy and security. The diplomatic circle in Beijing moans and groans every time anyone speaks of Pyongyang. It is always Beijing which paid the bill no matter whether it was the Chinese leaders who visited Pyongyang or the North Korean leaders who visited Beijing. ... "China has taken advantage of its influence over Pyongyang and built a sound, cooperative relationship with the United States, which has greatly advanced its position on the international stage. Now Washington has come around to the right way of thinking and decided �0A;that, since China calls itself a great power in the region, it can simply let Beijing shoulder the responsibility of being the big brother! In any case, Pyongyang is developing nuclear weapons, and the country that will bear the brunt is, without a doubt, Japan. But in the long run, it is Beijing that will feel restless due to deep worries [about those nuclear weapons]. Beijing's sense of agony and distress will surely be heavier than those of Washington's. Perhaps Wen will bring back news about the Six-Party Talks, but returning to the negotiating table is tantamount to being back to square one. Beijing is a skillful negotiator, but when it comes to negotiating with Pyongyang, it will be like meeting one's match -- [there are] no more tricks it can play...." ¶3. "Why U.S. Should Sell F-16 C/Ds to Taiwan" The pro-independence "Taiwan News" [circulation: 20,000] editorialized (10/5): "The Annual United States-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference, held last week in Charlottesville, Virginia, provided a litmus test to the character of the trilateral relationship between Taiwan, the U.S. and the People's Republic of China. ... In a rare exercise of political hard ball, Taiwan's Ministry of National defense forced Ma to adjust his announced decision to cancel the purchase of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters in exchange for rescue relief helicopters back to the original procurement plan and intensified its pressure on Washington to speed up the sales of upgraded F-16 C/D fighters to address the yawning gap in air power in the Taiwan Strait, as urged by Deputy Defense Minister Chao Shih-chang in the Charlottesville Conference. For its part, Beijing has reaffirmed its steadfast opposition against U.S. arms sales to Taiwan on each and every possible occasion. ... "At present, there are two main calculations in Washington's strategic thinking. First, the Taiwan issue was definitely not at the top of the agenda of the Obama administration in its first year. Instead, one of Obama's prime diplomatic goals in visiting the PRC is to secure Beijing's implementation of a climate change agreement signed during July's SED as well as discussing a wide range of issues with Hu to lead up to next summer's SED. Moreover, Washington has been carefully observing Beijing's attitude and response to Ma's touted 'goodwill' approach and is concerned over whether a decision on the F-16 C/D Block jet fighters would jeopardize the apparent cross-strait rapprochement. "Since Ma's domestic support was hammered by his KMT government's poor handling of the typhoon crisis, the extent to which Beijing sees Ma's leadership as weakening will deeply influence the KMT government's bargain chips in upcoming cross-strait negotiations. Both factors mitigate against an early decision by Washington to sell the upgraded F-16 C/D fighters to Taiwan in the near future. ... In this context, the F-16 C/D sale has both symbolic value in demonstrating Taiwan's capability of deterrence and bolstering Taiwan's negotiation assets relative to the PRC. Given the uncertainties of future cross-strait relations, we urge the Obama administration to give positive consideration to the 'timing' of selling advanced F-16 C/D fighters and other defensive-oriented weapons to Taiwan to strengthen Taiwan's negotiation power with China and ensure the protection of Taiwan's democracy and security." STANTON