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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
US identifies Beijing as its enemy number one
By James Langton in New York
The prospect of a new arms race and a deterioration in relations between
Washington and Beijing rose sharply at the weekend after reports of a switch
in United States defence strategy, with China supplanting Russia as the US's
primary foe.
The Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, has told President George Bush
that he plans sweeping changes in military policy to redirect the thrust of
US strategic planning towards China.
Despite the growing chill towards Russia, prompted by last week's tit-for-tat
spy expulsions, and signs of a return to Cold War politics, the Bush
Administration is convinced that China's growing military and economic
strength makes it the real threat to world peace.
Mr Bush was presented with the outline of the defence review at a meeting
with Mr Rumsfeld on Friday. It is believed to have avoided decisions on
specific weapons programs, such as the new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
The White House is instead concentrating on strategy, with officials
preparing the ground for policy changes that will direct planning away from
the possibility of a war with Russia.
A White House official said: "The secretary made clear that China and Asia -
and the distances involved there - are looming ever larger on our radar."
Defence planners have argued that the $US60 billion ($120 billion) JSF would
be useless in the Far East arena because it lacks range.
Other changes could include more long-range bombers such as the B-2 and a
trend towards smaller aircraft carriers, which are less vulnerable to missile
attack. The review is also likely to recommend further cuts in troops
stationed in Europe.
Mr Bush has presented an interim military budget for next year of
$US310billion, which does not represent a significant rise over this year,
but has said he will delay any decision on increasing defence spending until
after the review.
Mr Rumsfeld signalled new White House thinking in a recent interview, saying:
"The threat of an invasion of Soviet and Warsaw Pact tanks coming across the
German plain is past."
The defence review was disclosed as President Jiang Zemin of China warned the
US against selling advanced weapons systems to Taiwan, which has requested
four destroyers equipped with long-range Aegis radar to guard against Chinese
missiles.
In an interview in The Washington Post on Saturday, Mr Jiang urged Washington
to "think strategically", saying that if the US were to sell Tiawan advanced
weapons it "would be very detrimental to China-US relations".
He said he feared a new arms race in the region, and rejected US suggestions
that China should pull back its missiles from the Taiwan Strait.
"The more weapons you sell, the more we will prepare ourselves in terms of
our national defence. This is logical."
Tensions between the two governments have been heightened by the news that a
senior Chinese army officer, said to be an expert on disarmament, defected
recently to the US.
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