Posted on 02/23/2007 6:10:22 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Cheney warns on Chinese military rise
by Olivier Knox
1 hour, 33 minutes ago
US Vice President Dick Cheney has warned China Friday that its swift military build-up worried the world and said Washington was not blindly trusting North Korea to implement a landmark nuclear deal.
On the first full day of an official visit, Cheney also used a speech to a group of prominent US and Australian citizens to assail unnamed critics who he said want the allies to "turn our backs" on places like Afghanistan or Iraq.
But his visit, aimed at thanking staunch US ally Australia for its support in Iraq, was marred by a second day of clashes between police and demonstrators protesting Cheney's trip outside the hotel where he was speaking.
In some of his most extensive remarks on the North Korean pact, Cheney praised China's help but said its military build-up and anti-satellite weapons test clashed with its stated goal of being a peaceful power.
"The Chinese understand that a nuclear North Korea would be a threat to their own security," he told the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, but "other actions by the Chinese government send a different message."
"Last month's anti-satellite test and China's continued fast-paced military build-up are less constructive and are not consistent with China's stated goal of a 'peaceful rise,'" Cheney said.
China shot down one of its own orbiting weather satellites in space with a ballistic missile, provoking an international outcry amid fears over satellite security.
US-China military ties chilled in 2001 following a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and an American spy plane that killed the Chinese jet pilot. Beijing infuriated Washington by holding the spy crew for 11 days.
As for the nuclear deal, which requires North Korea to shut key facilities in exchange for energy aid, Cheney sought to allay concerns in Asia -- especially in Japan -- that the United States was going soft on Pyongyang.
"We go into this deal with our eyes open. In light of North Korea's missile tests last July, its nuclear test in October and its record of proliferation and human rights abuses, the regime in Pyongyang has much to prove," he said.
"Yet this agreement represents the first hopeful step towards a better future for the North Korean people," said Cheney, who was here after a visit to Tokyo aimed at soothing worries about the agreement.
Cheney also made a full-throated defence of the Iraq war and the new US plan to pacify Baghdad, which has drawn opposition in the United States even as key ally Britain announced a troop draw-down.
With US Democrats and a majority of the US public pushing to withdraw troops, Cheney warned that hastily quitting Iraq would unleash terrorists and sectarian violence on the Middle East and the world.
"The notion that free countries can turn our backs on what happens in places like Afghanistan, Iraq or any other possible safe haven for terrorists is an option we simply cannot indulge," said Cheney.
Washington and its allies are waging a battle for the survival of their civilisation, he said.
"We've never had a fight like this and it's not a fight we can win using the strategies from other wars," he said.
"The only option for our security and survival is to go on the offensive, face the threat directly, patiently and systematically till the enemy is destroyed."
He also held out a hand to China, asking Beijing to "join us in our efforts to prevent the deployment and proliferation of deadly technologies, whether in Asia or in the Middle East" -- an apparent reference to Iran's nuclear program.
Outside the venue around 100 protesters struggled with police, who arrested four people.
Cheney later met Australian Prime Minister John Howard's chief political rival, opposition leader Kevin Rudd, who has vowed to pull Australian troops from Iraq if elected later this year.
Cheney was to hold talks Saturday with Howard, who he described as an old friend and staunch US ally who shared Washington's values, before taking a tour of Sydney's scenic harbour, US officials said. He leaves Sunday.
Ping!
Cheney for President.
Militarily, we hate them and they are our enemy - economically, we love them and they are our friend...
That sure worked well between France and Germany a few years ago.
That's how the world operates...
When I was a grad student in engineering I had several Chinese friends who were planning on going back to China after they were done. When I got my job doing defense research, I would tease them that I was going to make sure we could go kick some Chinese ass if we had to. We all laughed about it...What worries me is that I was one of only two Americans in my program.
Do the Chinese have any problems with the Russians?
I wonder if Nazi Pelosi has demanded that Cheney apologize for these insensitive comments yet?
If he ran I'd also vote for him.
Ditto.
You summed it up precisely. We, more than any other country outside of China itself, are responsible for the rise of this rival. Now we are deeply in debt to them and depend on their buying our bonds. We were told that this was "a good thing" because the Chinese would become more like us. Maybe, instead, they'll just become more like their own vision of themselves, "the Middle Kingdom."
I don't know.
Looks like Dick may secretly be pulling for Duncan Hunter. Duncan has a Youtube ad on exactly that issue related to unfair trade practices of the Chinese. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28q0qxsrX6E
Leftists hate him, but ever notice the way they NEVER call him stupid? That's not simply because Cheyney is not stupid, but because leftists know the guy oozes intelligence, calm, and experience, and they'd end up making themselves look stupid by making the claim.
Apparently not...from my archives:
April 30, 2001 - Russian military forces intervened in a mock nuclear conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan during strategic exercises that included Russian preparations to use nuclear weapons on U.S. forces in Asia, The Washington Times has learned.
Russian forces help China in mock conflict
Feb 2002 - China's military is covertly buying U.S. commercial satellite photographs of Taiwan that U.S. intelligence officials say will be used to target the island with the mainland's growing arsenal of cruise and ballistic missiles. Satellite photographs of most of the island are being purchased by China through a South Korean company, U.S. intelligence officials say.
Nov 2003 - In a tough statement, the Vice-Minister at Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office Wang Zaixi said Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's recent pro-separatist activities had crossed Beijing's "red line" and that they "run the risk of triggering a war" with the mainland. "War will break out if the island declares formal independence," state media on Wednesday quoted Wang as saying.
July 26, 2004 - About 18,000 Chinese troops using their country's most advanced weapons systems last week rehearsed coordinated air, sea and ground attacks on Dongshan, an island in the South China Sea that resembles Taiwan in terrain and weather.
Feb 7, 2005 - Quietly, with almost no notice taken in the U.S. media, Russia and China have just stepped up their military cooperation to a level not seen in half a century since the end of the Korean War.
Mar 8, 2005 — China unveiled a law Tuesday authorizing an attack if Taiwan moves toward formal independence, increasing pressure on the self-ruled island while warning other countries not to interfere.
June 26, 2005 - China is building its military forces faster than U.S. intelligence and military analysts expected, prompting fears that Beijing will attack Taiwan in the next two years, according to Pentagon officials. U.S. defense and intelligence officials say all the signs point in one troubling direction: Beijing then will be forced to go to war with the United States, which has vowed to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack.
June 28, 2005 - China's decision to open up massive bomb shelters to the public, ostensibly to provide a respite from summer heat, has U.S. intelligence analysts concerned about a possible strategic deception by Beijing, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The Chinese specialist agreed with others knowledgeable about nuclear arms that such a maneuver – opening up large fallout shelters to the public on a regular basis would serve two strategic purposes for Beijing: It would familiarize the Chinese people to the shelters, making it easier to evacuate the public in times of potential nuclear attack; It would confuse Western intelligence analysts who monitor movements of the Chinese public by satellite as evidence of the government's intentions; In addition to monitoring missile launches, U.S. national security officials keep an eye on large-scale public movements in countries like China. If, for instance, city residents were seen moving in large numbers into fallout shelters, it would be a sign the government might be preparing for an attack of some kind.
But if such massive movements became routine – because shelters are opened up in the heat of summer and in the cold of winter to provide shelters from the elements – then such movements would more likely be disregarded as militarily insignificant in the West.
"Think about it," said one U.S. intelligence source. "If you were planning, at some point in the future, to launch a pre-emptive first strike on some enemy, wouldn't it make sense to do what the Chinese are doing?"
Anyone else hear a drum beat?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.