While US political leaders and citizens are concentrating their attention on Iraq, the Chinese appear to have embarked on a long-range plan intended to challenge the US for military superiority in Asia.
China's latest white paper on defense asserts: "To build a powerful and fortified national defense is a strategic task of China's modernization drive." Using code words for the US, the paper says: "Hegemonism and power politics remain key factors in undermining international security."
The white paper envisions three phases: to lay a solid foundation by 2010, to make "major progress" by 2020 and to reach the strategic goal of building armed forces capable of winning high-tech wars "by the mid-21st century."
In a report more candid than earlier versions, last year's paper says Chinese military spending from 1990 to 2005 rose at an annual average rate of 9.6 percent, after adjusting for inflation.
The US National Intelligence Director, John Negroponte, reinforced that view on Thursday, telling the Senate Intelligence Committee: "We assess that China's aspirations for great-power status, threat perceptions and security strategy would drive this modernization effort even if the Taiwan problem were resolved."
That is the highest growth rate of defense spending among the world's large nations.
Beijing's military budget for last year, the report says, was US$35.9 billion, up from US$31.3 billion the year before. US intelligence analysts estimate that China's overall military spending is at least twice as much since many defense related expenditures don't show up in published accounts.
The white paper indicates that most of the spending increases have gone into the navy, air force and what the Chinese call the Second Artillery, which is their nuclear force. These are the services whose missions are to project power beyond China's borders and coasts.
Targeting of US forces in East Asia is sometimes cloaked in euphemisms, but the meanings are clear. The white paper asserts: "Some developed countries have increased their input into the military and speeded up R&D [research and development] of high-tech weaponry to gain military superiority."
At other times, the paper is forthright in disclosing how the Chinese see things: "The United States is accelerating its realignment of military deployment to enhance its military capability in the Asia-Pacific region. The United States and Japan are strengthening their military alliance in pursuit of operational integration."
Although the paper has an undertone of hostility toward the US, it acknowledges the benefits of military exchanges last year: "The Chinese Navy and the US Navy conducted joint maritime search and rescue exercises in the offshore waters of San Diego."
Nor is the Taiwan question neglected. The white paper contends: "The struggle to oppose and contain the separatist forces for Taiwan independence and their activities remains a hard one." The tone, however, seems less harsh than that of the 2004 white paper.
On the other hand, the People's Liberation Army has adopted a new policy that, if carried out, would gladden the hearts of soldiers in any army, anywhere: "The food supply for officers and men aims at providing sufficient nutrition rather than just serving enough food."
Richard Halloran is a writer based in Hawaii.
There are moments in history when America has turned its back on its principles and withdrawn from past commitments in service of higher goals. For example, US-Soviet Cold War competition compelled America to make a range of deals with unsavory and undemocratic figures across Latin America and Africa in service of geostrategic aims. The United States overlooked mass atrocities against the Bengali population in modern-day Bangladesh in the early 1970s in service of its tilt toward Pakistan, a relationship the Nixon administration deemed critical to its larger aims in developing relations with China. Then, of course, America switched diplomatic recognition
The international women’s soccer match between Taiwan and New Zealand at the Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium, scheduled for Tuesday last week, was canceled at the last minute amid safety concerns over poor field conditions raised by the visiting team. The Football Ferns, as New Zealand’s women’s soccer team are known, had arrived in Taiwan one week earlier to prepare and soon raised their concerns. Efforts were made to improve the field, but the replacement patches of grass could not grow fast enough. The Football Ferns canceled the closed-door training match and then days later, the main event against Team Taiwan. The safety
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
RSS