US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI3085

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 003085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - 
ROBERT PALLADINO 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, KPAO, TW, Cross Strait Politics, Foreign Policy 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PENTAGON'S REPORT ON PRC 
MILITARY POWER 
 
1. Summary: The Taipei dailies gave significant 
coverage July 21 to the Pentagon's annual report on the 
military power of the People's Republic of China 
(released Tuesday in DC).  All the major Chinese- 
language newspapers in Taiwan reported on the contents 
of the report on their front and first few pages but 
approached the topic from different angles.  The pro- 
independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest daily, 
ran a banner headline on its front page that read: 
"United States: China does not yet have the ability to 
attack Taiwan.  The newspaper also carried a news story 
on the third page with the headline: "The United States 
informed Taiwan before it publicized the report on 
China's military power."  The sub-headline added: 
"Taiwan and the United States have smooth communication 
channels.  Taiwan will soon finalize its National 
Security Report, which will help to form a big 
international strategy of joint defense."  The pro- 
independence "Taiwan Daily" printed on its front page a 
story with the headline: "The United States estimates 
that China dares not attack Taiwan rashly."  Both the 
centrist "China Times" and pro-unification "United 
Daily News" carried similar headlines on their front 
pages that said the Pentagon report shows that the 
balance of power in the Taiwan Strait is tilting toward 
Beijing. 
 
2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a "Liberty 
Times" editorial used the Pentagon report as evidence 
that Taiwan needs to pass the special arms procurement 
bill currently stuck at the Legislative Yuan.  A "China 
Times" commentary said the report indicated that the 
United States is very concerned about China's military 
threat.  A "Taiwan Daily" editorial said the report 
shows that China's warmongering is not merely an 
attempt to intimidate Taiwan but is also meant to be a 
show of force for the United States and its allies in 
the region.  Chinese Council for Advanced Policy 
Studies Secretary-General Andrew Yang noted in an op-ed 
piece in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" that the 
Pentagon report suggests that "time" has become the 
most important factor for Washington, Beijing and 
Taipei in terms of their military buildup and combat 
readiness.  An editorial of the limited-circulation, 
pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times," 
however, said in the face of China's military threat, 
Taiwan must not count so heavily on the aid of its 
allies and should acquire the means to defense itself 
effectively.  End summary. 
 
A) "Can the Opposition Parties Continue to Boycott the 
Arms Procurement Budget? - The Alertness One Should 
Have from the Pentagon's `2005 Annual Report on PRC's 
Military Power" 
 
The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 
800,000] said in an editorial (7/21): 
 
". Therefore, whether China will use a hard or soft 
strategy against Taiwan, the way for Taiwan to defend 
itself is to strengthen its national defense and 
psychological defense.  However, the most worrisome 
[thing] is that Taiwan's defensive capabilities are 
clearly declining, and there is the trend of Taiwan's 
reducing and China's increasing military powers, 
[while] the opposition parties still boycott the arms 
procurement legislation without considering the 
security and well-being of Taiwan's 22 million people. 
Psychological defenses can break China's soft strategy. 
But as for its hard strategy, we must rely on powerful 
national defense to deter the enemy's rash moves.  Lien 
Chan is stepping down.  The Pan-Blue Camp's KMT 
Chairman-elected Ma Ying-jeou and Legislative Yuan 
President Wang Jin-pyng should give up the boycott 
strategy and promote the adoption of the arms 
procurement legislation as early as possible.  Or else, 
does this small group of Pan-Blue politicians want 
Taiwan's armed forces to fight against the Chinese 
hegemony and defend our country by using `bamboo poles 
and kitchen knives' [primitive weapons]?" 
 
B) "The United States Is Worried About China's `Non- 
peaceful' Rise" 
 
Journalist Chi Le-yi wrote in the centrist, pro-status 
quo "China Times" [circulation: 600,000] (7/21): 
 
"It is a little surprising that the `Annual Report on 
the Military Power of the People's Republic of China' 
released by the United States describes China as very 
frightening.  The report states that China's threat is 
not only aimed at Taiwan, but also at regional 
security.  Even the United States itself needs to be 
careful.  China's `non-peaceful' rise is pressuring the 
United States so hard that it seems that the United 
States will soon become breathless. 
 
"`Is China an enemy or a friend?'  This is a vital 
proposition for long-term U.S. observations of China's 
developments.  However, there has not been any definite 
conclusion.  In 2002, President Bush released the 
`National Security Strategy' report, which described 
China as `a potential great power in an internal 
transitional period.'  The United States was then quite 
confident in those developments and looked forward to 
reaching a consensus with China on relevant global 
affairs.  Now the general pictures of the U.S. and 
Chinese situations have not changed.  But its worth 
pondering over the intention for the United States to 
have stepped up its emphasis on the `China threat' 
theory. ." 
 
C) "The Whole World Has Seen That China's Warmongering 
Is Not Only Meant to Intimidate Taiwan but also to Make 
a Show of Force to the United States and Its Allies in 
the Asia-Pacific Region" 
 
The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" [circulation: 
150,000] editorialized (7/21): 
 
". Judged by this [i.e. the Pentagon's annual report on 
the PRC's military power], China's active strengthening 
of its military modernization in recent years was not 
merely meant to intimidate Taiwan but also an attempt 
to make a show of force for the United States and its 
allies in the Asia-Pacific region.  This newspaper 
believes that while seeking to befriend the Beijing 
government to jointly daunt North Korea's nuclear 
weapons proliferation, Washington must not lower its 
guard against China's unscrupulous moves to expand its 
military buildup. . 
 
". In particular, given the fact that the globalizing 
economic system has helped many Chinese people create 
their fortunes and improve their living standards, it 
will be very difficult for the Beijing government to 
convince its people to support its attack against 
Taiwan.  This newspaper believes that Taiwan 
businessmen all over China should exercise their 
relationships and influence to convey to the Chinese 
people the universal values of viewing economic 
development and peace as top priorities.  The ruling 
and opposition parties in Taiwan, on the other hand, 
must bear in mind a bigger picture of the [world] 
situation and the principle of `competition better than 
conflicts,' so that Beijing will not get a wrong 
message and mistakenly believe that it can patronize 
the `pro-China' power in Taiwan.  Moreover, the 
international community, including the EU, should not 
unrealistically expect that the Chinese government 
would resolve the cross-Strait issue via `peaceful 
dialogue.'  The international community should engage 
itself in a pragmatic understanding and identification 
of Taiwan's strategic position in an attempt to 
maintain peace in the Asia-Pacific region and not let 
it be sabotaged by China's military expansion." 
 
D) "Messages Manifested by the Report on PRC's Military 
Power" 
 
Andrew Yang, Secretary-General of the Chinese Council 
for Advanced Policy Studies, commented in an op-ed 
piece of the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" 
[circulation: 500,000] (7/21): 
 
". When compared with the [Pentagon's] reports released 
in previous years, this year's report on the PRC 
military power carried a few characteristics: 
 
"First, the wording [in this year's report] in 
describing the PRC's strategic intentions and military 
strength is more precise; there is hardly any ambiguous 
or speculative phrasing.  On the surface, the Pentagon 
emphasized that its data collection of the PRC military 
intelligence was incomplete, but the report itself 
revealed that the United States has managed to obtain 
accurate knowledge of the PRC military intelligence. 
The [U.S.] intention to contest [with China] privately 
can be found between lines [in the report]. 
 
"Second, it is noteworthy that the United States 
clearly believes that the PRC will seek to fight and 
win short-duration, high-intensity conflicts across the 
Taiwan Strait, and that the PRC's objective is to 
prevent Taiwan's independence and to prevent possible 
intervention [in China-Taiwan problems] by the United 
States.  In other words, the PRC has an obvious target 
in mind when proceeding with its military buildup.  [It 
is evident that] the biggest variable for military 
attacks is `time,' and `time' has thus become the most 
important factor for Washington, Beijing and Taipei in 
terms of their military buildup and combat readiness. 
." 
 
E) "Pentagon's Warning No Surprise" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" 
[circulation: 30,000] noted in an editorial (7/21): 
 
". [People's Liberation Army Major General] Zhu's 
comments were typical of the Chinese military, 
indicating the haughty and bellicose nature of the PLA. 
The rising jingoism in China in recent years has gone 
hand-in-hand with its military expansion.  This has 
warned the whole world that China's so-called `peaceful 
rising' is anything but that.  It is no surprise, 
therefore, that a Pentagon report published on Tuesday 
in Washington affirmed the rapid pace of China's 
military expansion. . 
 
"The threat that China now poses is an issue that 
Taiwan and its neighbors need to resolve.  In fact, it 
concerns countries around the world.  The EU certainly 
must take a more responsible attitude in its 
considerations over whether to lift its arms embargo on 
China.  It should stop focusing on the commercial 
benefits of lifting the ban and do the responsible 
thing to help ensure regional peace in Asia and the 
rest of the world. 
 
"As for the pan-blue camp, its members have simply 
buried their heads in the sand as far as China's 
military threat is concerned.  Although they have long 
refused to face reality, hopefully pressure from the US 
and other nations will convince its leaders to 
greenlight passage of the long-delayed special arms 
purchase bill. 
 
"In the face of China's military threat, Taiwan has no 
choice but to acquire the means to defend itself 
effectively.  It must not always count so heavily on 
the aid of its allies." 
 
PAAL