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Copyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)
July 21, 2005 Thursday
London Edition 1
SECTION: THE AMERICAS; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 505 words
HEADLINE: China hits at US claim of military threat PENTAGON REPORT:
BYLINE: By MURE DICKIE, KATHRIN HILLE and DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO
DATELINE: BEIJING , WASHINGTON and TAIPEI
BODY:
China has denounced a report by the US Department of Defense that painted its increasingly powerful military as a potential threat to other Asian countries.
The foreign ministry said yesterday it had summoned the acting US ambassador to a meeting with Yang Jiechi, vice-minister, to express Beijing's "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military power.
The assessment was a flagrant mischaracterisation of China's peaceful defence policy and reasonable military development, the ministry said in a statement. "This report ignores fact in order to do everything it can to disseminate the 'China threat theory'. It crudely interferes in China's internal affairs and is a provocation against China's relations with other countries."
The report and Beijing's response underline the sensitivities over China's growing military clout in a region where US supremacy has been unchallenged for decades. The report, which had been delayed reportedly because of disagreement within the US administration about its content, said China's ability to "project conventional military power beyond its periphery remains limited".
It detailed Beijing's efforts to acquire the means to wage war against Taiwan, over which China claims sovereignty, and to deter other countries from intervening in such a conflict.
Armed with an increasingly potent People's Liberation Army, Chinese leaders might be tempted to resort to force more quickly to resolve disputes with its neighbours, the report said. "Over the long term, if trends persist, PLA capabilities could pose a credible threat to other modern militaries in the region," it said.
China's foreign ministry dismissed such forecasts and the report's assessment that Beijing's defence spending was likely to be between two and three times as high as the Dollars 30bn (Euros 25bn, Pounds 17bn) publicly allocated for this year. The ministry said US defence spending was nearly 18 times as high as China's - and 77 times as high in per capita terms.
However, China's response is unlikely to ease concern among US analysts and politicians about the potential threat posed by its drive to deploy advanced weapon systems, ranging from attack submarines to intercontinental nuclear missiles.
A senior Chinese military official raised hackles in Washington last week by declaring that China was prepared to use nuclear weapons against the US in a conflict over Taiwan.
Analysts in Taiwan said the island would benefit from the report's focus on China's military expansion. However, Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies in Taipei, said Beijing was likely to push Washington to contain Taiwanese moves towards independence as a condition for any promise not to use its strengthened military capabilities. "Thus we will see rising US pressure on the Taiwanese government very soon," he said. Additional reporting by Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Kathrin Hille in Taipei .. Editorial Comment, Page 16
LOAD-DATE: July 21, 2005
Financial Times (London, England)
July 21, 2005 Thursday
London Edition 1
SECTION: THE AMERICAS; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 505 words
HEADLINE: China hits at US claim of military threat PENTAGON REPORT:
BYLINE: By MURE DICKIE, KATHRIN HILLE and DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO
DATELINE: BEIJING , WASHINGTON and TAIPEI
BODY:
China has denounced a report by the US Department of Defense that painted its increasingly powerful military as a potential threat to other Asian countries.
The foreign ministry said yesterday it had summoned the acting US ambassador to a meeting with Yang Jiechi, vice-minister, to express Beijing's "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military power.
The assessment was a flagrant mischaracterisation of China's peaceful defence policy and reasonable military development, the ministry said in a statement. "This report ignores fact in order to do everything it can to disseminate the 'China threat theory'. It crudely interferes in China's internal affairs and is a provocation against China's relations with other countries."
The report and Beijing's response underline the sensitivities over China's growing military clout in a region where US supremacy has been unchallenged for decades. The report, which had been delayed reportedly because of disagreement within the US administration about its content, said China's ability to "project conventional military power beyond its periphery remains limited".
It detailed Beijing's efforts to acquire the means to wage war against Taiwan, over which China claims sovereignty, and to deter other countries from intervening in such a conflict.
Armed with an increasingly potent People's Liberation Army, Chinese leaders might be tempted to resort to force more quickly to resolve disputes with its neighbours, the report said. "Over the long term, if trends persist, PLA capabilities could pose a credible threat to other modern militaries in the region," it said.
China's foreign ministry dismissed such forecasts and the report's assessment that Beijing's defence spending was likely to be between two and three times as high as the Dollars 30bn (Euros 25bn, Pounds 17bn) publicly allocated for this year. The ministry said US defence spending was nearly 18 times as high as China's - and 77 times as high in per capita terms.
However, China's response is unlikely to ease concern among US analysts and politicians about the potential threat posed by its drive to deploy advanced weapon systems, ranging from attack submarines to intercontinental nuclear missiles.
A senior Chinese military official raised hackles in Washington last week by declaring that China was prepared to use nuclear weapons against the US in a conflict over Taiwan.
Analysts in Taiwan said the island would benefit from the report's focus on China's military expansion. However, Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies in Taipei, said Beijing was likely to push Washington to contain Taiwanese moves towards independence as a condition for any promise not to use its strengthened military capabilities. "Thus we will see rising US pressure on the Taiwanese government very soon," he said. Additional reporting by Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Kathrin Hille in Taipei .. Editorial Comment, Page 16
LOAD-DATE: July 21, 2005
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