Cameron Speaks to China: WSJ editorial

• REVIEW & OUTLOOK ASIA
• NOVEMBER 11, 2010

Cameron Speaks to China

A worthy first effort by the British Prime Minister.

Lamenting Barack Obama's reluctance to talk about political freedom during his visit to China last year, artist Ai Weiwei noted that "Many Chinese, especially the young, hope for a more open and just society—this needs the support of foreign leaders." Mr. Ai, who was placed under house arrest last week, finally got his wish thanks to a visit from David Cameron.

In a speech Wednesday at Beijing University, the U.K. Prime Minister did not stint in his praise for the economic progress China has made in the past three decades. But neither did he stint in his critique—largely by way of contrast to the U.K.—of China's political system.

In Britain, he noted, the Prime Minister is personally answerable to Parliament. The opposition party has "a constitutional duty to hold the new Government publicly to account." An independent judiciary may overturn the decisions of government. The free press gives voters the opportunity "to hear directly from people who hold different views from the government." And while he acknowledged that ordinary Chinese live, travel and work more freely than before, he also made clear that more was needed. "I hope that in time [the rise in economic freedom] will lead to a greater political opening because I am convinced that the best guarantor of prosperity and stability is for economic and political progress to go in step together."

All this was right and necessary to say, particularly to an audience that included Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Mr. Cameron might even have gone a step further: In 2008, on the eve of the Beijing Olympics, George W. Bush insisted that "America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists." At a minimum, we trust the Prime Minister raised the cases of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo, Gao Zhisheng, Hu Jia, Mr. Ai and other dissidents directly with his hosts in private.

Still, private diplomacy has its limits. As dissidents the world over will attest, nothing is so encouraging to them, and so embarrassing to their oppressors, than to have Western leaders speak openly and forcefully on behalf of political freedoms and human rights. Mr. Cameron took a good step in that direction on Wednesday.

Asia's Changing Balance of Power: WSJ editorial on Russia planning to sell Sukhois to China

• REVIEW & OUTLOOK ASIA
• DECEMBER 10, 2010

Asia's Changing Balance of Power

Russia's Sukhoi-35 sale to China requires a U.S. response.

Reports that Russia intends to sell China 48 of its most advanced fighter jets, the Sukhoi-35, are one more confirmation of a dangerous trend for the balance of power in East Asia. It's not just that China is expanding the number of planes, missiles, surface ships and submarines it can use to project power in the region. Rising economic and technological capabilities are also pushing Moscow into making deals for state-of-the-art weaponry. This requires that the U.S. pay more attention to the deterrent capability of its own forces and those of its allies.

For roughly the last decade, Moscow was not prepared to sell the most advanced systems to China, and for very good reasons. As the Journal reported earlier this week, in the 1990s Beijing bought fighters and missiles from cash-strapped Moscow and then reverse-engineered them. Now Chinese factories compete with the Russians in the lower end of the market.

But the closer you get to the leading edge of technology, the harder it is to make a copy that functions like the real thing. The Chinese have remained dependent on the Russians for some key parts. They still stumbled when it came to designing complex systems from scratch. So they faced a choice: Put in the time and resources to continue developing indigenous technology, with no guarantee when this effort would pay off, or agree to buy the Russian products, with presumably better intellectual-property protection this time around.

The Russians face a similar conundrum of how to maintain their technological lead. Chinese cash will go a long way toward financing their troubled program to develop a fifth-generation fighter. So the Su-35 deal could be a sign of a new cooperative relationship.

The Su-35 is advanced enough to be termed in defense circles as "fourth generation plus," which means only a fifth-generation fighter can definitely outclass it. Last year, the Obama administration decided to cancel further production of the only fifth-generation fighter currently in service: the F-22. Washington will have limited ability to deploy its F-22s to help its Asian friends, meaning Beijing will have numerical and technological superiority in the region.

The American friend that has most to fear from this is Taiwan. Even now, the People's Liberation Army could probably assert air superiority over the island. That means the risk of escalation and miscalculation across the Taiwan Strait is growing.

Taiwan urgently needs to improve its capabilities. The best way to do that would be for the U.S. to sell it new F-16s, a fighter that at least would offer Taiwan some parity against the Su-35, though it would be even better served with the twin-engined F-18. That would cause a temporary rift in U.S.-China ties, but with China increasing its military budget at a double-digit rate and acquiring new technology, not approving the sale would send the message that the U.S. is abandoning Taiwan.

The debate over the rise of China has focused on whether Beijing is a "status quo power." Intentions are impossible to determine, but the rise of China's military capabilities is clear. The Obama Administration needs to act with urgency if it wants to preserve the balance of power in Asia and continue to be the guarantor of the region's stability.