WP: Chinese Military Buildup Seen as Threat to Region(Pentagon assessment)

[DeepModem Mom]

Chinese Buildup Seen as Threat to Region
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 20, 2005; Page A16


China's military buildup is broadening the reach of its forces in Asia and poses a long-term threat not only to Taiwan but to the U.S. military in the Pacific and to regional powers such as India and Japan, according to an assessment released yesterday by the Pentagon.

The Beijing government is also improving and expanding its nuclear arsenal, fielding more advanced nuclear missiles capable of striking India, Russia and "virtually all of the United States," said the annual China military power report, based on U.S. intelligence and mandated by Congress. The report, however, said China's ability to project its conventional military power remains limited.

China's defense spending could grow to $90 billion in 2005 -- three times the Chinese government's official figure -- making the country's military budget the world's third-largest, after the United States and Russia, and the biggest in Asia.

The report comes as the Pentagon focuses on China's steady military modernization as a driving force in long-range U.S. defense strategy and overseas basing, American military officials and analysts say. It generated intense debate within the Bush administration, with the State Department pushing for a benign depiction of China's intentions, while the Pentagon sought to emphasize a looming threat, defense officials said.

The report suggests a renewed wariness of China on the part of the Bush administration, which has collaborated with Beijing on the effort to curb North Korea's nuclear programs and in the fight against terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Yesterday's report reflected the fact that over the last several years China's massive investment in defense has become far more stark and deliberate. "Without a doubt, the direction Chinese military modernization has taken in recent years absolutely represents a growing threat to the U.S.," said Evan Medeiros, an expert on China's military at the Rand Corp. Still, several analysts agreed that U.S. military dominance in the region is secure for at least another decade....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/19/AR2005071900946.html

[LynnTheDem]

1. So bush, WHATCHA GONNA DO?

Heh.

[VegasWolf]

2. Snicker. What can he do? No money, no troops, maybe he can knock

down the great wall by running into it on his bicycle.

[LynnTheDem]

6. *snicker*

:D

[Robert Oak]

3. Finally

NO shit Sherlock...wonder how much pressure the Pentagon got to not release such a report.

now let's get back to that "would you like to buy the Brooklyn Bridge also" trade agreement the China PNTR...
now wasn't that pushed down our throats by claiming that economic
ties will reduce the military threat of China to the United States?

It's fairly obvious that the totalitarian regime called communist China
is doing the classic Lenin economic model of
"the capitalists will sell you the rope in which we can hang them"
but in this case, the United States gave them the damn rope plus the ability to make more.

[ngant17]

10. misquoting Lenin?

For the record here on DU, I believe that V. I. Lenin never wrote or made the statement about 'the capitalists buying the rope to hang themselves'. I have never found a documented source in any of Lenin's collected writings (which are of course outside of the usual misinformed rightwing rant). For this specific quotation, I think it has been inaccurately attributed to Lenin. It probably originated from far-right disinformation sources years ago. Unfortunately, it has been repeated now so much that most will people assume it is the gospel truth. I don't believe either Mao or Joe Stalin made such a statement either. Maybe they did, but a documented source would make a believer out of me.

I have inquired about this alleged statement by Lenin with Marxist scholars in the Usenet newsgroups a few years ago, and this is pretty much what I have been told. There is something vaguely related to that, Lenin once wrote that he would support a certain British politician in the same way that a hangman's noose supports the neck of condemned man. That's probably as close as you will get to that statement.

I think it is important to keep the facts straight, right or left, and that's an absolute rarity in Washington these days.

I don't mean to distract from the good points in the rest of your message.

[Robert Oak]

11. LOL Busted

This is true, he never said it or it's never been discovered that he said it...but its such a common quote and so commonly attributed to him
and also so damn good...I just use it "as is".

This is the first time anyone knew that and I've even had it in my sig on a 100+ member board.

:)

[leesa]

4. Well, BushCo, it's YOUR fault and you have no military. So sad!

Your beligerence and First-strike Theory for Fools produced this situation...or is that what you wanted?

[The2ndWheel]

5. Part 2: The enemy is China

http://www.atimes.com/editor/CB17Ba01.html

US President George W Bush has tasked the obscure Office of Net Assessment of the Department of Defense (Pentagon) and its publicity-shy director, veteran - very veteran, he's 79 years old - Andrew W Marshall, with conducting a fast-track, six-week review of American military strategy in light of revolutionary military-technological developments and changed, post-Cold War international strategic alignments and potential adversaries. Judging by published views of Marshall and the Office of Net Assessment, the likely principal new challenger of US dominance is China, and India bears close watching.

[mbperrin]

7. How dare they spend 1/6 of what we do on the military,

and how dare they poke their noses in OUR Asia!

:crazy:

[goforit]

8. When ya have a US President that taunts them, what the hell d'ye think?

[dArKeR]

9. China again today, July 19, said they will send a nuclear strike against

American cities if provoked by Ameria over their enslaving of Taiwan. Nuclear strike news is nowhere to be found except a few blogs.

[emad]

12. US reports China missile build-up

China has increased the number of short-range ballistic missiles on its coast opposite Taiwan, the US has said.

In an annual report to Congress, the Pentagon claimed there were now up to 730 such missiles in place. Last year's report found only 500.

The Pentagon said China could now be spending up to $90bn a year on defence, and that its military build-up put regional balances at risk.

But China has dismissed the claims, insisting its rise would be peaceful.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4698655.stm

[oneighty]

13. Sleeping giant

meet sleeping dragon.

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