Posted on 07/20/2005 7:59:45 PM PDT by blam
China's anger at 'rude' US report on its military expansion
By Alec Russell, in Washington and Richard Spencer, in Beijing
(Filed: 21/07/2005)
Beijing hit back immediately and angrily yesterday at a long-awaited Pentagon report that warned of an aggressive Chinese military build-up, calling it "groundless, gratuitous and rude".
Reflecting mounting concern in the Pentagon over China's military ambitions and scope, the report warned of a long-term threat not only to Taiwan but also to the US forces in the Pacific and regional powers including India and Japan.
China is also expanding its nuclear arsenal with missiles capable of reaching India, Russia and the United States, the assessment warned. The publication of the annual report had been delayed by intense discussion between the State Department and the Pentagon over the scale of the threat.
It suggested that China's annual military spending could increase to $90 billion this year - three times the official figure - making its budget the third largest after America and Russia.
On a less alarmist note, it concluded that China's con ventional forces are not yet ready for Beijing to be sure it could "fight and win" a conflict with Taiwan to prevent a bid for formal independence.
The 45-page report lacked the stark language that can often be heard from Pentagon officials and in Congress over Beijing's military build-up.
The United States is eager for "a peaceful and prosperous China, one that becomes integrated as a constructive member of the international community", it said. But it added: "Questions remain about the basic choices China's leaders will make as China's power and influence grow, particularly its military power."
China's vice foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, said America could hardly criticise China's military spending when its own was so much greater.
The report "ignores the facts, spares no effort to spread the 'China threat theory', (and) rudely interferes in China's internal affairs", he said.
That was the sound of a frustrated bureaucrat recognizing that his life was dedicated to a goal that his nation will never be able to achieve.
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