US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI4839

UNCLAS TAIPEI 004839 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ERIC 
BARBORIAK 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, KPAO, TW, Domestic Politics, Foreign Policy, Military Issues 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S. ARMS PROCUREMENTS 
 
1. Summary: Major Chinese-language Taiwan dailies continued 
to focus their coverage December 9 on the personnel 
reshuffle in the DPP and Cabinet, the planned merger between 
the KMT and the PFP, and other local issues.  The pro- 
independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest daily, ran a 
banner headline on its front page that read: "Two Kidd-class 
Frigates Arrive in Taiwan."  The pro-unification "United 
Daily News," on the other hand, carried the latest results 
of a poll survey on its front page, which said 57 percent of 
the people polled said they do not support the idea of PFP 
Chairman James Soong running for Taipei City mayor. 
 
2. In terms of U.S. arms procurement, the "Liberty Times" is 
the only paper that carried a Reuters news story on its page 
two with the headline: "U.S. Military Leader Urges Taiwan to 
Continue Pushing for the Arms Procurement Bill."  In 
addition, an editorial in the limited-circulation, pro- 
independence, English-language "Taipei Times" said 
Washington blasts Taiwan for not spending enough on defense 
but refuses to approve weapons systems that Taiwan's Defense 
Ministry had requested.  The editorial also criticized the 
Bush administration's incompetence and arrogance, saying 
"the lasting effects of his foreign policy blunders may take 
years to bear bitter fruit for the U.S., but they are 
already degrading his country's options here."  End summary. 
 
"Bush, an Emperor with No Clothes" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" 
[circulation: 30,000] said in an editorial (12/9): 
 
"The Bush administration has proven itself adept at 
undermining the political and the strategic standing of the 
U.S. across the globe. . Most importantly - from Taiwan's 
perspective - the optimism that greeted Bush's outspoken 
support for this country in 2001 in the face of China's 
threatening attitude has now disintegrated.  Bush and his 
advisers appear to be at a loss as to the implications of 
developments in Taiwan's political arena, and this has been 
reflected in the way Washington deals with such contentious 
issues as the procurement of US arms. . 
 
". Washington blasts Taiwan for not spending enough on 
defense, even as it refuses to approve weapons that the 
Ministry of National Defense has requested. . The U.S.' 
reasoning was that these weapons are offensive, not 
defensive, in nature.  One does not have to be a Clausewitz 
fanatic to understand that in terms of the strategic 
application of military power, Taiwan is in no position to 
launch an assault on China.  And since this is the case, why 
limit the tactical options available to Taiwanese 
commanders, should they one day have to defend their 
country? . 
 
"Yet this disconnect in U.S. policymaking is not the 
provenance of the military alone, and it speaks of a 
misunderstanding of Taiwan's political situation.  Many 
Taiwan observers in the US have interpreted the Democratic 
Progressive Party's tribulations, and the subsequent support 
that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has received, 
incorrectly. 
 
"There is no question that the fortunes of the 
administration of President Chen Shui-bian are at a low ebb, 
and that the status of KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou is rising. 
However, analysts should be careful to interpret this 
phenomenon in the context of domestic politics, and not as 
an indication of a major shift in Taiwanese attitudes toward 
cross-strait policy. . 
 
"Incompetence and crass arrogance have been a hallmark of 
bush and his Cabinet since his first day in office.  It is 
only recently that this has translated into a lack of 
support for him domestically.  The lasting effects of his 
foreign policy blunders may take years to bear bitter fruit 
for the U.S., but they are already degrading his country's 
options here." 
 
PAAL