The Agonist - Taiwan

Direct China-Taiwan flights begin

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:28:45 -0700

July 4

BBC - The first regular direct flight from mainland China to Taiwan for nearly 60 years has landed at Taipei's airport.

Since the two sides split in civil war in 1949, travellers have had to fly via a third destination - apart from a few special flights during major holidays.

The flight from Guangzhou marks the beginning of regular non-stop direct flights between a number of cities.

The flights will be on weekends only but are seen as a big step in improved relations between the two sides.

Taiwan ships enter Japan waters

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:15:41 -0700

Shino Yuasa | Tokyo | June 16

LA Times - Nine Taiwanese coast guard vessels entered Japanese waters Monday near disputed islands in the East China Sea to accompany a ship of protesters angry over the sinking nearby of a Taiwanese fishing boat, officials said.

Japan immediately denounced the incident as a violation of its territorial waters, amid a spike in tensions over the islands, known as Diaoyutai in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese. Officials in Taiwan called it a mission to uphold its sovereignty over the disputed territory.

The vessels and the protest ship were in Japanese waters for about two and a half hours near the islands, defying repeated warnings from Japanese patrol boats, the Japanese coast guard said in a statement.

Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration Vice Minister Cheng Chang-hsiung said the protesters got less than two-thirds of a mile (less than 1 kilometer) from an island in the chain, where they were blocked by nine Japanese patrol vessels. Cheng said Taiwan dispatched nine patrol vessels to protect the protesters' ship along the way.

China-Taiwan flight deal marks further thaw in ties

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:35:29 -0700

Jonathan Adams | Taipei | June 14

CSM - Taiwan and China sealed a deal on cross-strait charter flights and tourism Friday in Beijing, in the first formal talks between the two sides in nearly a decade. The deal comes amid a rapid thaw in cross-strait relations under Taiwan's new president, Ma Ying-jeou, who took power May 20.

Analysts cautioned that Friday's deal was just the first – and easiest – step on the long and difficult road toward reconciliation between the two bitter rivals. Critics in Taiwan said President Ma had made too many concessions to China too soon.

"Eventually, the two sides will reach the end of the list of things they can agree on easily, and the process will slow down," says Shelley Rigger, an expert on cross-strait relations at Davidson College in North Carolina.

US may post Marines at office in Taiwan

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:47:01 -0700

Debby Wu | Taipei | April 19

AP - The United States may post Marines at its unofficial embassy in Taiwan - a small but symbolically significant change in its delicate political relationship with the self-ruled island.

A State Department advertisement in the English-language Taipei Times newspaper called for contractors to construct quarters for Marine security guards at a new U.S. compound in the capital, Taipei.

Since the U.S. switched its recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, there have been no marine guards at its Taipei facility - the American Institute in Taiwan - in keeping with its deliberately low political profile.

Chinese Geopolitics and the Significance of Tibet

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:26:03 -0700

George Friedman | April 15

Stratfor - China is an island. We do not mean it is surrounded by water; we mean China is surrounded by territory that is difficult to traverse. Therefore, China is hard to invade; given its size and population, it is even harder to occupy. This also makes it hard for the Chinese to invade others; not utterly impossible, but quite difficult. Containing a fifth of the world’s population, China can wall itself off from the world, as it did prior to the United Kingdom’s forced entry in the 19th century and under Mao Zedong. All of this means China is a great power, but one that has to behave very differently than other great powers.

Quick chat may signal new era for China, Taiwan

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:19:51 -0700

Boao, China | April 13

AP - They've spent nearly six decades bickering, pointing weapons at each other and thinking of reasons not to talk. But over the weekend, China and Taiwan began what appears to be a bold new effort to ease tensions that have long threatened to spark a war.

It began with a hastily arranged meeting Saturday between Taiwanese Vice President-elect Vincent Siew and Chinese leader Hu Jintao. Both were attending a business conference on the tropical Chinese island of Hainan, and they agreed to sit down for a 20-minute chat.

Although the visit was brief and mostly focused on economics, it was historically significant and loaded with symbols that are extremely important in Chinese culture.

U.S. says missile parts mistakenly sent to Taiwan

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:42:48 -0700

Julian E. Barnes & Ben DuBose | Washington | March 26

Los Angeles Times - The U.S. military mistakenly shipped parts from a Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile to Taiwan, Pentagon officials announced Tuesday in the second incident to come to light in recent months in which nuclear weapons were mishandled.

Pentagon officials said the material sent to Taiwan consisted of four electrical fuses for the ICBM nose cones. The fuses, used to trigger nuclear weapons, do not contain nuclear material.

But experts on nuclear security said the mistaken transfer showed a serious deterioration in the safeguards and controls that the U.S. military has over its nuclear warheads.

"This is really unbelievable," said Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, which advocates reducing the number of nuclear weapons. "If the Russians had shipped triggers to Tehran we would be going nuts right now."

U.S. officials anxiously notified China of the error, but experts did not expect Beijing to react with alarm because of long-standing U.S. policies against arming Taiwan with nuclear weapons.

Jeffrey has more at Arms Control Wonk

Taiwan voters go to the polls to choose new president

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:52:14 -0700

Taipei | March 22

AFP - Taiwanese began voting early Saturday in a presidential election expected to turn on the slowing economy and hopes their new leader will mend damaged relations with China.

The poll is being watched closely by Beijing and Washington for signs of a shift in approach after eight years of tensions under outgoing President Chen Shui-bian.

It pits Harvard-educated Ma Ying-jeou of the opposition Kuomintang, who is considered the frontrunner, against pro-independence ruling party chief Frank Hsieh.

Taiwan Stakes Its Claim on Disputed Isle

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 19:22:30 -0800

Jane Rickards | Taipei | February 3

WaPo -

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian inaugurated a runway on one of the disputed Spratly Islands on Saturday and insisted the archipelago belongs to Taiwan despite claims by China and several other Asian countries.

Chen's one-day round-trip voyage was designed to dramatize Taiwan's claim to the string of islands with the kind of gesture for which he has become famous during more than seven years as leader of this self-ruled island. Disregarding other countries' assertions, he declared the island he visited, Taiping Dao, "an intrinsic part of our territory," according to a statement from his office.

"From the beginning, we have had our brothers in the military and coastal patrol stationed here, and we have in succession set up relevant atmospheric, humanitarian and ecological testing facilities, occupying and administering this island for half a century," he added.

The Spratly Islands, more than 100 rocky islets, reefs and atolls in the South China Sea, are claimed in full or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potential oil and gas deposits.

China criticises Taiwan referendum as threat to peace

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:31:36 -0800

Beijing | February 3

AFP - China warned Saturday that Taiwan's decision to hold a referendum on trying to join the United Nations could threaten peace in the Asia Pacific region, state media said.

China said the decision to hold one of the referendum on whether to bid for membership under the name "Taiwan" was a move towards formal independence by the island, the official Xinhua news agency said.

"Once this scheme is realised, it certainly will seriously impact relations across the Taiwan Straits, seriously harm the fundamental interests of compatriots on both sides and seriously imperil peace in the Taiwan Straits and even peace in the Asia-Pacific region," Xinhua said, citing the statement.

Taiwan nationalists in huge win

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:19:24 -0800

January 12

BBC - Taiwan's opposition nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) party has won a landslide victory in parliamentary polls, official results show.

The KMT, which wants closer ties with China, secured 72% of the seats in the 113-seat chamber, beating President Chen Shui-bian's party, the DPP.

The independence-leaning president said he was "shamed", resigning as chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party.The elections are seen as a barometer for the presidential poll on 22 March.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that should be reunified.

China planning Taiwan Strait route for commercial aviation

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 06:41:14 -0800

David Lague | Beijing | January 6

IHT - China plans to open a new commercial aviation route through the Taiwan Strait in a move that officials in Taipei said was a threat to regional peace and a danger to air safety.

The new route between Hong Kong and Shanghai would track just inside the Chinese side of the unofficial dividing line through the middle of the Taiwan Strait, an area that both sides have mostly avoided since the 1950s, security and aviation specialists in Taiwan said.

The United States, Taiwan's closest military ally, has been drawn into the dispute and has held talks about the proposed route with Beijing and Taipei, according to U.S. and Taiwanese officials.

Taiwan president renews vow not to declare independence

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:37:23 -0800

Taipei | Dec 11

AFP - Taiwan's independence-leaning President Chen Shui-bian on Monday renewed his previous pledge that he would not declare independence during the last six months of his office.

He told visiting American senior politician Raymond Burghardt that he would abide by the so-called "five nos" policy he had previously promised when he was first elected president in 2000. That policy was that he would not declare formal independence during the term of his office.

The navy – an instrument of policy in China-Taiwan cross strait relations

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 04:00:48 -0800

Eric Koo Peng Kuan | Austin | December 10

The Agonist - Both China and Taiwan are fond of loudly announcing military developments at the Taiwan Strait to the point of gaudy advertising by the rhetoric of politicians from both sides played up greatly by Chinese and Taiwanese media. One must wonder, if the wisdom of Sun Tzu, who always advocated hiding one’s intentions from his enemy, could truly be applied in the context of the modern China-Taiwan conflict. Third party military analysts of the Taiwan Strait flashpoint region would certainly shake their heads in exasperation of what truly are the intentions of both sides.

Historically always a land power, China saw the defeat of its pre-modern fleet against the Japanese in the late 19th century, (1894-1895), when it lost eight out of its twelve ships to the modern Japanese fleet. Thereafter, political and social events dictated no need for another establishment of a surface fleet. Indeed, the lack of a strong naval fleet in the 1920s to 1930s, led to a failure in deterring the Japanese land expansion on the Asian continent at the expense of China during the Sino Japanese War.

Taiwan unveils missiles at National Day parade

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:05:06 -0700

Taipei | Oct 10

AFP - Taiwan flexed its military muscles Wednesday, showing off two home-developed missiles in a rare parade seen as a reminder to China that it has the weaponry to defend itself.

In a televised National Day address, President Chen Shui-bian said China's own military build-up posed a threat to world peace, and urged it to withdraw nearly 1,000 ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at the island.

The military parade -- the first in 16 years -- came amid growing tensions between China and Taiwan, which split in 1949 after a civil war.

The most eye-catching weaponry on parade were the supersonic Hsiung-feng 3 ship-to-ship missile and the Tien Kung 3 anti-missile system.

The defence ministry also for the first time allowed a glimpse of a locally developed unmanned surveillance plane that could be used to gather battlefield data.

But the island's first cruise missile, the Hsiung-feng 2E -- which because of its range could reach the Chinese mainland -- was not on display following reported pressure from Taipei's main ally Washington.