Re: Chinese Military News Thread
China, US militaries seem to be finally setting up a hotline. Gates seems to have better things to say about Sino-US ties compared to the more outspoken Rumsfeld in the same forum 2 years ago.
Does anyone know if US & USSR had such 'hotline' during the cold war ?
Title : US, China take pains to cool military dispute
By :
Date : 02 June 2007 1538 hrs (SST)
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SINGAPORE : The United States and China turned down the heat Saturday in a simmering dispute over Beijing's military build-up, with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates expressing optimism about future relations.
Gates called for a more detailed military dialogue with China to avoid future miscalculations, while a top Chinese general said Beijing was prepared to open a "hotline" with Washington.
The comments from the two officials, both of whom were attending an Asian security conference in Singapore, came in the wake of a Pentagon report that questioned the motivation behind Beijing's drive to modernise its military.
Gates downplayed past US rhetoric on China's military might, alluding only in passing to the Pentagon report by reiterating Washington's concerns over "the opaqueness of Beijing's military spending and modernisation programmes."
"But as General Pete Pace, our chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed out, there is some difference between 'capacity' and 'intent.' And I believe there is reason to be optimistic about the US-China relationship."
"As we gain experience in dealing with each other, relationships can be forged that will build trust over time," Gates said.
His mild tone contrasted with that taken by his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld, who used the same forum two years ago to sharply question China's intentions in building up its military.
Later in a question-and-answer session, Gates said dialogue could be a useful tool in helping countries with differing ideologies to understand each other better, referring to Washington's Cold War-era negotiations with Moscow.
"While we have no conflict at this point, this kind of transparency, this kind of discussion is the kind of thing that prevents miscalculation, and helps each side understand where the other is headed and what its intentions are," Gates said.
"That kind of dialogue, whether or not it involves specific proposals for arms control or anything else, I think is immensely valuable, and I think is one of the great assets of developing the military-to-military dialogue between the United States and the People's Republic."
For his part, Lieutenant General Zhang Qinsheng, the Peoples Liberation Army's military intelligence chief, defended the buildup but said Beijing was "gradually making progress" in meeting US demands for greater openness.
He said China would finalise arrangements for a "hotline" with Washington in September when the two sides meet for annual defence talks, satisfying a long-standing US objective.
Zhang, the highest ranking Chinese military officer ever to attend the conference, also insisted that Beijing's strategic "intent" was purely defensive, saying: "China shall never fire the first shot."
But he denounced the Pentagon's recent report that detailed Beijing's drive to acquire warships, aircraft and missiles as a "product of the Cold War mindset" that sought to foster the view that China is a threat.
"This report is unreliable; it's not to be believed," Zhang said.
Zhang and Gates both spoke at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an international conference on Asian security organised by London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, an independent think tank.
The general said China's declared US$45 billion defence budget was "true and authentic".
The Pentagon estimates China's military spending is really two or three times that much.
Responding to US charges that its projected military force goes beyond what it needs to defend itself, he said China needed a "proportionate military capability" for a country of its territorial size and population.
"China also has another problem, which is the Taiwan issue," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
"Some people in Taiwan are still dreaming about secession. So China's military must be prepared to cope with this kind of threat. If anything happens, China's military must be prepared to respond."
"China will try everything, including diplomatic, political, economic and even military force to defend the territorial integrity of China to prevent Taiwan secession," he said.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification.
Gates also used his speech to rebut perceptions that the United States has become too bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan to focus on East Asia.
"We are an Asian power with significant and long term political, economic and security interests," he said. "Our commitments elsewhere notwithstanding, we will fulfil our commitments in Asia." - AFP/ch
