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Waiting for Ma¡¦s reply to the PLA¡¦s
latest moves
By Lu I-ming §f¤@»Ê
Monday, Aug 16, 2010, Page 8
Recently, the hawks within China¡¦s People¡¦s Liberation Army (PLA)
have been criticizing the US in statements and articles, and within a 20-day
period, China held seven military exercises in the Yellow Sea and the East China
Sea. Beijing has also reiterated claims to the disputed islands in the South
China Sea and opposed the many large-scale military exercises the US has held in
the Asia-Pacific region, including the US battle carrier flotilla which trawled
along the Chinese coast. The frequency with which the US and China have been
displaying their military might lately has been usual.
The tense relations between the US and China, as well as the US Navy¡¦s patrol
along the Chinese coast, show that Washington is responding to requests from its
Asian allies to put a damper on Beijing¡¦s determination to become a hegemonic
power. While the US and China share common economic interests, conflicts between
the two nations over various hotspots, such as the South China Sea and the
Korean Peninsula, are leading to increased posturing.
To break through the chain of islands the US and Japan are using to control
China, Beijing must neutralize Taiwan. China would stand to make even greater
strategic gains if it could annex Taiwan, and that is why it is trying to force
Taiwan to accept the ¡§one China¡¨ principle.
However, the US does not want Taiwan to use independence to upset China, nor
does it want Taiwan to become neutral or start to lean toward China, as this
would spoil the US¡¦ overall strategic interests.
Given this situation, Taiwan must understand that not only is President Ma Ying-jeou
(°¨^¤E) leaning toward China and moving away from the US and Japan, but the
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are
leaning toward the Chinese Communist Party and away from the DPP¡¦s base. This is
a highly unstable situation that could erupt at anytime.
Now even the idea that Taiwan and China should have their own interpretations of
¡§one China¡¨ is also coming under attack. Mainland Affairs Council Minister Lai
Shin-yuan (¿à©¯´D) recently had to make an early return to Taiwan from overseas
because Beijing thought her demand that China¡¦s ¡§Anti-Secession¡¨ Law allowing
the use of military force against Taiwan should be abolished implied that she
had ¡§ulterior motives.¡¨ Furthermore, Ma sidestepped the sensitive issue of the
removal of Chinese missiles at the KMT¡¦s recent party convention.
These developments together with the US tabling any new military arms sales to
Taiwan this year, show that the relaxed cross-strait relations the Ma
administration is so proud of are a result of self-denigration and defeatism.
Global Views magazine recently published an opinion poll where 47 percent of
respondents said they supported the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).
However, 56 percent said they were not satisfied with the Ma administration and
66 percent said they believed there is no need for Taiwan and China to be
unified. Twenty-nine percent supported independence for Taiwan. Only 15.6
percent said they supported ¡§eventual unification,¡¨ while 69.9 percent opposed
it.
These responses clearly show that Ma¡¦s wishful, one-sided, cross-strait policies
are tantamount to playing with fire because Beijing will not budge on its ¡§one
China¡¨ principle.
Given China¡¦s all-pervading unification efforts, the already signed ECFA and the
PLA¡¦s talk of a mutual military trust mechanism bypassing sovereignty and a
peace agreement based on the ¡§one China¡¨ principle, we now have to wait and see
how Ma will respond.
Lu I-ming is the former publisher and president of Taiwan¡¦s
Shin Sheng Daily News.
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