China’s buildup of sea and air military power funded by a strong economy appears aimed at the US, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Monday.
Admiral Michael Mullen said China had the right to meet its security needs, but the build-up would require the US to work with its Pacific allies to respond to increasing Chinese military capabilities.
“They are developing capabilities that are very maritime focused, maritime and air focused, and in many ways, very much focused on us,” he told a conference of the Navy League, a nonprofit seamen’s support group, in Washington.
“They seem very focused on the US Navy and our bases that are in that part of the world,” he said.
China in March unveiled its official military budget of US$70.24 billion for this year, the latest in nearly two decades of double-digit rises in declared defense spending.
Mullen acknowledged that “every country in the world has got a right to develop their military as they see fit to provide for their own security.”
But he said the build-up propelled by fast economic growth required the US and allies or partners like South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to work together to “figure out a way to work with [China]” to avoid miscalculations.
Mullen’s comments followed remarks by US President Barack Obama’s top adviser on Asia on Friday calling for high-level talks with the Chinese military to reduce mistrust.
Meanwhile, Beijing yesterday sought to rebuff Australian concerns about its military buildup, saying it was committed to peaceful development.
Canberra’s Defense White Paper said China must be more open about its military expansion or risk alarming neighbors, warning security jitters caused by a more capable China would extend far beyond Taiwan.
Australia’s plans include the purchase of 12 advanced new submarines that experts said could alarm China and accelerate an arms race in the Western Pacific.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu (馬朝旭) said China was only interested in peace, repeating the government’s standard line when other nations tell of their concern about the growing Chinese defense budget.
“China is going along the path of peaceful development. We pursue a defensive defense policy. China is a positive force for maintaining regional stability and world peace,” Ma said.
“China’s military modernization will not threaten any country. I think related countries ought to look at this more objectively and without prejudice,” he told a news briefing.
But a report this week in the Global Times, a popular Chinese tabloid that often takes a hawkish slant on foreign policy issues, slammed the white paper for exaggerating the “China threat.”
It quoted Meng Xiangqing (孟祥青), a researcher at the National Defense University in Beijing, where People’s Liberation Army officers receive advanced training, as saying the Australian policy document was “typical of a Western Cold War mentality.”
“On the one hand, it shows that China’s developing military strength has indeed attracted Australia’s concern,” Meng said. “On the other hand, it shows that Australia is constantly seeking to strengthen its ties with the United States.”
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