MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS, NAVAL DISPUTES,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000662

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/CM, EAP/PA, EAP/PD, C
HQ PACOM FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR (J007)
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR CH

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS, NAVAL DISPUTES,
CHINA'S DIPLOMACY

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Editorial Quotes
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1. U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS

"The Foreign Minister's meeting tests the patience of China and the
U.S."

The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/13): "At this sensitive moment in the
U.S.-China relationship, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's
visit to Washington has become a challenge to the Obama
administration's policy on China. Secretary Clinton and Yang Jiechi
have both agreed, in the future, to avoid a similar confrontation
like what happened in the South China Sea. Western media didn't
expect that such a serious conflict could be resolved in such a
peaceful atmosphere. It manifests the rational choices of the two
countries in regard of the bilateral relationship. However, at the
same time that the two met, the U.S. Navy was sending out a
destroyer to escort the U.S. ship that was involved in the disputes
with China. It seems the Pentagon intended to again risk reversing
the general development in U.S.-China relationship. However, the
American media issued few reports about it. Chinese experts also
believe that compared to the historical bombing of the Chinese
embassy in Belgrade, the South China Sea incident was a very small
thing. Since then, the international environment has been completely
different. Two countries political leaders and their diplomatic
departments, not their military departments, have dealt with the
recent incident. The U.S.-China relationship has built up a dam
against risks. The U.S. will not want to offend China, who has a
large investment portion in the U.S."


2. NAVAL DISPUTES

a. "The rights of passage guaranteed to American ships are too
hegemonic"

The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal
(Shijie Xinwenbao)(03/13): "The U.S. believes that it enjoys the
right to freely pass through international waters as regulated by
the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the U.S. even has not
yet joined. The convention regulates that there is a 12 sea mile
limitation to each country's water territory. However, the scope of
certain country's water territory runs counter to the international
law. Therefore the U.S. believes that the behavior of these
countries has violated its rights of free passage and it should
conduct countermeasures. Although China has protested the U.S. spy
ships' activities at China's water territory, the U.S. debated that
its ships and airplanes enjoy free rights of sailing and flying over
the area outside 12 sea miles water territory and within
international water territory. Experts indicate such rights have
limitations. The sailing within the EEZ (exclusive economic zone); a
certain country must respect the country's rights. However, the U.S.
ships' military probing activities in China's EEZ have obviously
violated China's sovereignty and security interests."

b. "American official implies that the U.S. is exploring a nuclear
submarine base"

Elite Reference (Qingnian Cankao),a newspaper affiliated to the
official Communist Youth League China Youth Daily (03/13): "Two
anonymous Pentagon officials later admitted that the American ship
was on a mission to seek out a submarine base. This is a part of the
U.S. military's spying activities in the South China Sea. The two
American officials indicated that the ship is designed to hunt for
submarines and is equipped for that purpose. The U.S. military did
not admit that it is a military ship or a spy ship. But it is a
common measure for the U.S. Navy to play 'cat and mouse' with
foreign submarines. It is so unreasonable that the U.S. would blame
China, in spite of that fact that, the U.S. has stepped into such a
sensitive area in China."


3. CHINA'S MILITARY

"Why the American military commander doesn't worry about the
possible Chinese aircraft carrier"

The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal
(Shijie Xinwenbao)(03/13): "Recently an American Pacific Commander
said, while in Viet Nam, that the U.S. pays attention to China's
ambition to construct an aircraft carrier, but is not worried about
it. He says this because he wants to show the U.S. military's
confidence. His words also show that the U.S. military has a basic
judgment about the development of the Chinese Navy; that the Chinese
are not seeking power-politics. Most importantly, this shows that
the U.S. military doubts China's ability to build an aircraft
carrier. However, once China possesses an aircraft carrier, what

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China will use it for will be the most important piece of
information the U.S. will want to know."

WEINSTEIN