VZCZCXRO8519
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #0662/01 0720900
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130900Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2871
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

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 
 
-------------------- 
  Editorial Quotes 
-------------------- 
 
¶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 
 
BEIJING 00000662  002 OF 002 
 
 
China will use it for will be the most important piece of 
information the U.S. will want to know." 
 
WEINSTEIN