US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld warned yesterday that China is spending considerably more on a major military buildup than officially acknowledged and asked why it had so many missiles aimed at Taiwan.
A Pentagon study due to be released later this month concludes that China's defense budget is now the largest in Asia and third largest in the world, he said.
"Since no nation threatens China, one wonders: why this growing investment?" Rumsfeld said. "Why these continuing large weapons purchases?"
He delivered the warning, one of the bluntest yet by a senior US official, to an audience of Asian defense ministers and military experts at a gathering hosted by the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Singapore.
During a question and answer session, a Chinese foreign ministry official asked if Rumsfeld really believed China faced no threat and if the US felt threatened by China.
"I don't know of nations that threaten China," Rumsfeld said, adding: "No, we don't feel threatened by the emergence of China. It strikes me that the emergence of China is perfectly understandable."
"If everyone is agreed that the situation between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan is going to be resolved in a peaceful way then one has to ask why this significant increase in ballistic missiles opposite Taiwan," he said.
Rumsfeld said escalating military budgets in the region "are matters that should be of concern," pointing to rivalries that endure despite the end of the Cold War.
"China appears to be expanding its missile forces, allowing them to reach targets in many areas of the world while also expanding its missile capabilities within this region," he said.
"China also is improving its ability to project power, and is developing advanced systems of military technology," he said.
But facing an audience anxious about a possible US-China confrontation in Asia, Rumsfeld toned down parts of his prepared speech and insisted the US sought neither to destabilize China nor fan a competition for regional influence.
One line dropped from his prepared text said: "One might be concerned that this buildup is putting the delicate military balance in the region at risk -- especially, but not only, with respect to Taiwan."
China earlier this year announced a 12.6 percent increase in military spending to 244.65 billion yuan (US$ 29.5 billion).
Rumsfeld said political freedom has not followed economic growth in China, creating uncertainties for the future.
"Ultimately, China likely will need to embrace some form of open, representative government if it is to fully achieve the benefits to which its people aspire," he said.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
ALLIANCE: Washington continues to implement its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan and helps enhance its defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US President Joe Biden on Friday agreed to provide US$571.3 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the US State Department approved the potential sale of US$265 million in military equipment. Biden had delegated to the secretary of state the authority “to direct the drawdown of up to US$571.3 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement. However, it did not provide specific details about this latest package, which was the third of its kind to
RSS