VZCZCXYZ0008
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0814/01 1870834
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060834Z JUL 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1899
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9276
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0708

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000814 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/P, EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-TAIWAN RELATIONS, U.S.-JAPAN-TAIWAN 
RELATIONS 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused their 
July 3-6 news coverage on President Ma Ying-jeou's trip in Latin 
America; on the developments in cross-Strait relations; on the 
university entrance examination for senior high school students 
island-wide; and on the shoulder injury of Taiwan-born New York 
Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming.  In terms of editorials and 
commentaries, an editorial in the conservative, pro-unification, 
English-language "China Post" welcomed the AIT announcement last 
Wednesday of the appointment of its new Taipei director.  Several 
op-ed pieces also discussed Japan's plan to deploy troops on 
Yonaguni island in the East China Sea.  An op-ed in the 
pro-independence "Liberty Times" said given the United States' and 
Japan's plans to station military forces on Yonaguni island, it 
appears that the situation in the Taiwan Strait is getting more 
dangerous.  A column in the pro-unification "United Daily News" said 
the developments in cross-Strait relations should provide a new 
direction in thinking for both Japan and the United States.  An 
op-ed piece in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei 
Times," however, said "the move is aimed at Taiwan rather than 
China."  End summary. 
 
¶2. U.S.-Taiwan Relations 
 
"New AIT Chief Welcome" 
 
The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" 
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (7/3): 
 
"Once again, the helm of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) is 
due to be transferred from one career diplomat to another. 
According to an announcement just made by the AIT, the current AIT 
Taipei office director Stephen M. Young will be replaced next month 
by William A. Stanton, the current deputy chief of mission at the 
U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea.  Stanton, who will take over as 
America's de facto ambassador in Taipei, following a month of 
consultation in Washington, possesses valuable experience in this 
region, and his appointment is welcomed. ... 
 
"Stanton's job will include preparatory work for moving AIT's Taipei 
headquarters from its present location on Xinyi Road -- which used 
to house a military advisory office and is now considered a security 
threat due to its proximity to the street -- to a brand new location 
in the suburb of Neihu.  AIT's move will symbolize the permanency of 
close ties between Taipei and Washington, even though they remain 
"unofficial" due to the lack of formal diplomatic relations. 
 
"Over recent weeks, news reports had suggested that Stanton's 
appointment by U.S. President Barack Obama had somehow been stymied 
by comments he purportedly made to congressional staff members 
visiting the embassy in Korea. ...  Experience shows that whenever 
there is a succession at AIT's Taipei office, vicious rumors start 
circulating in Washington about the director-to-be in the hopes of 
shooting down the appointment. ... 
 
"President Obama was wise to make this appointment in a timely 
fashion.  When Obama's predecessor, Bush, took over the White House, 
it was nearly two years before he got around to making important 
personnel appointments at AIT. ...  Now, President Obama is widely 
expected to replace Burghardt as AIT chairman at any time, although 
nothing much has appeared in the media to suggest who might take 
Burghardt's place.  Judging by the appointment of Stanton, we expect 
Obama will avoid making the mistakes of his predecessors, Bush and 
Clinton, when it comes to making this important appointment. 
Hopefully, Obama's advisors have learned the lessons of past 
administrations and will give careful thought before making any 
recommendations." 
 
¶3. U.S.-Japan-Taiwan Relations 
 
A) "Cross-Strait [Relations] Not Secure; U.S., Japan to Station 
Military on Yonaguni Island" 
 
Yun Cheng, a freelancer focusing on Taiwan issues, opined in the 
pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 700,000] (7/4): 
 
"Regarding the reports that the United States and Japan are planning 
to station military forces on Yonaguni Island (and the United 
States' air force presence on the Shimoji Island), there are two 
interpretations in Taiwan -- taking precautions against China, or 
taking precautions against Taiwan.  The former interpretation is 
based on the traditional idea of containment, while the latter is 
derived from the anticipation that Taiwan will become part of China 
-- different people holding different views.  But a close look at 
the U.S. military deployment on Yonaguni Island revealed that it is 
Apache attack helicopters that are stationed on the island, and one 
cannot help but be surprised that such a move is not about [the 
United States'] air supremacy.  Rather, it is an alternative option 
for [possible] defensive warfare on the island and the follow-on 
RELATIONS 
 
protection and repatriation of the American people from the island 
in case Taiwan loses its air supremacy.  It appears that the Taiwan 
Strait has not become more secure but more dangerous. 
 
"... As a result, in the long run, the Ma administration's endless 
tilting to China and resistance against Japan will not be able to 
make the Taiwan Strait more secure.  Despite the State Department's 
compliment [toward the Ma administration], this is something odd 
that the United States is doing instead -- to proceed with military 
deployment proactively. ...  While Ma Ying-jeou is on an overseas 
trip, the proposal tossed off by China's Taiwan Affairs Office 
Director Wang Yi on 'opening the middle line of the Taiwan Strait' 
and the 'establishment of military confidence building measures' 
were exactly the consequences of [the Ma administration's] 'rapid 
reconciliation' [with China] and its 'cultural and economic errors'. 
 Further developments [in the Taiwan Strait] will certainly affect 
the future direction of the upper-level structure -- namely, the 
United States and Japan." 
 
B) "Significance of Stationing Military on Yonaguni Island" 
 
The "Black and White" column in the pro-unification "United Daily 
News" [circulation: 400,000] wrote (7/4): 
 
"... Now that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are moving toward 
reconciliation, [the importance of] military factors [in 
cross-Strait relations] are dropping dramatically.  Japan, as a 
result, will come up with a different contingency plan.  When the 
chances are slim for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to resolve the 
cross-Strait relations with wars but instead, with economic 
interaction, it would be unlikely that Japan would adopt military 
means, if it wants to maintain a situation favorable for itself in 
the Taiwan Strait.  Instead, Japan should also use economic means to 
help Taiwan consolidate its democracy and economic independence. 
This is a new development for both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and 
should also be a new [direction] in thinking for Japan and the 
United States. ..." 
 
C) "Yonaguni Plans Raise Questions for Taiwan" 
 
Lai I-chung, director of foreign policy studies at the Taiwan 
Thinktank, opined in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei 
Times" [circulation: 30,000] (7/6): 
"Recent news reports said the US and Japan are planning to station 
military on Yonaguni Island in response to demands from local 
residents following China's military expansion. A closer analysis, 
however, shows that it is more likely that such a military 
deployment would be the result of US and Japanese questions about 
the future strategic direction of Taiwan. In other words, the move 
is aimed at Taiwan rather than China. ...  It is the Japanese 
territory closest to Taiwan. Taiwan shields Yonaguni from China, and 
it lies quite a distance away from the Philippines, so there can 
only be two reasons for stationing troops there. 
 
"The first reason is that the US and Japan believe there is a very 
high risk of conflict in the Taiwan Strait, and that after an 
outbreak of war, it is very likely that Chinese military would enter 
and leave Taiwan on the east coast, which would be the reason for 
strengthening the military presence on Yonaguni.  This implies that 
the US and Japan do not buy into the claim by Taiwan's government 
that cross-strait tensions have fallen and that the situation has 
stabilized, and that they are stationing military east of Hualien to 
prepare for all eventualities.  The second possibility is that the 
US and Japan feel the accession of President Ma Ying-jeou's 
administration has brought about a fundamental change in the 
direction of Taiwanese strategy and the two countries are therefore 
preparing for the possibility that Taiwan would side with China in a 
hypothetical future conflict between the US and Japan on the one 
hand, and China on the other. ... 
 
"These concerns prohibit the US-Japanese alliance from treating 
Taiwan as an ally. If Taiwan were to cooperate with their opponent, 
Hualien would no longer function as a shield from China and Yonaguni 
would be on the front line of the conflict and it would also be used 
to monitor Taiwan's actions.  Regardless of whether the US and Japan 
station troops on Yonaguni because they are worried about Taiwan or 
because they want to monitor Taiwan, such action does not coincide 
with what the Ma administration has said.  Late this year, Japan 
will announce its defense strategy outline, and next year is the 
50th anniversary of the US-Japanese alliance. By that time, the 
plans of the two allies will become clearer.  However, the fact that 
the promise to let Taiwan assemble P3-C anti-submarine aircraft fell 
through tells us that Taipei has become a strategic uncertainty 
factor.  As a result of the government moving closer to China, 
distancing itself from the US and opposing Japan, Taiwan has gone 
from being a friend that cooperates with the US and Japan to a 
country that the two allies must defend themselves against. The 
stationing of troops on Yonaguni will be the first step in this 
RELATIONS 
 
change." 
WANG