China's military rise weighs on US - Financial Times - MSNBC.com

China's military rise weighs on US - Financial Times - MSNBC.com

China's military rise weighs on US
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Financial Times
Updated: 11:42 p.m. ET April 19, 2006

When Chinese President Hu Jintao meets President George W. Bush at the White House today, much of the focus will be on trade and currency issues. But lurking in the background will be US concerns about the rise of the Chinese military and whether China's intentions are peaceful.

The Sino-US military relationship turned very sour in 2001, when a Chinese fighter jet and an American EP-3 spy aircraft collided off the Chinese coast. But in the three years following the September 11 attacks, Chinese co-operation in the "war on terror", and the US preoccupation with Iraq and Afghanistan, appeared to push US concerns about its military expansion off the public radar.

Early last year, however, Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency officials started publicly raising concerns about the rapid growth in the Chinese military budget.

A senior administration official said on Wednesday that some of those concerns would be raised during Mr Hu's visit to Washington, although they would not feature prominently.

Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, startled the Chinese last June when he addressed a meeting of defence ministers in Singapore with the question: "Since no nation threatens China, one wonders: why this growing investment?"

The Pentagon soon after released its annual military report on China, which said Beijing was increasing its efforts to prepare for a conflict over Taiwan, including developing long-term measures to help defend itself from any other country that got involved in a Taiwan conflict. The report also criticised China for a lack of transparency in its military budget.

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Earlier this year, the Pentagon released its Quadrennial Defense Review – an important military strategy document that outlines future threats – which concluded that China had the "greatest potential to compete militarily" with the US. China responded angrily to the Pentagon reports. It argues that its intentions are peaceful.

The US says it hopes China does not have belligerent intentions, but that Washington must prepare for more hostile scenarios. "Uncertainties about how China will use its power will lead the US ... to hedge relations with China," Robert Zoellick, deputy secretary of state, said in a speech on China last September.

The senior administration official said the military discussion during the Hu visit would focus on issues such as improving military exchanges, particularly of middle-ranked officers, and increasing confidence-building measures to understand the structures of their armed forces.

In the aftermath of the EP-3 incident, the Pentagon has been pushing the People's Liberation Army to agree to establish a telephone hotline between the two militaries.

Pentagon officials encouraged China to set up the hotline during Mr Rumsfeld's visit to Beijing last year. But the official on Wednesday said that no progress had been made.
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