From: "mart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fw: US/China: Pentagon Sees Beijing As Potential Foe This South China Morning Post article is very serious and very ominous. Note that the quote from the Chinese that "Despite the recent co-operation between Beijing and Washington on the fight against terrorism, the US Department of Defence announced this week it wants to boost the American military presence in Asia for what analysts say is in preparation for a possible confrontation with China" Emphasis on the word " Despite" mart. ----- Original Message ----- From: Stasi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 2:00 AM Subject: US/China: Pentagon Sees Beijing As Potential Foe - SCMP --------------------------------------------- Thursday, October 4, 2001 South China Morning Post Pentagon sees Beijing as potential foe ========================= ANALYSIS by RAY CHEUNG Despite the recent co-operation between Beijing and Washington on the fight against terrorism, the US Department of Defence announced this week it wants to boost the American military presence in Asia for what analysts say is in preparation for a possible confrontation with China. The department on Sunday submitted to Congress its Quadrennial Defence Review Report - the Pentagon's assessment of Washington's global military strategy. It calls for the strengthening of the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Signed by Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, the report says: "Asia is gradually emerging as a region susceptible to a large-scale military competitor . . . Maintaining a stable balance in Asia will be a complex task. "The possibility exists that a military competitor with a formidable resource base will emerge in the region. The East Asian littoral - from the Bay of Bengal to the Sea of Japan - represents a particularly challenging area." Although the report, which was being prepared as early as 1997, does not mention any nation by name, US defence analysts agree the competitor alluded to is China. "There is only one nation they are talking about and that is China," said Dr Nicholas Berry, senior China analyst at the Centre for Defence Information in Washington. "The review is a hedge by the Pentagon where they think the highest number of contingencies will be and that is with China." To prepare for this, the Pentagon report calls for a "paradigm shift" in Washington's military strategy, in which US forces should prepare for conflicts in two particular regions - northeast and southwest Asia. The Pentagon proposes increasing its military presence in the Pacific and improving access to the region. The report specifically calls for the deployment of another aircraft carrier battle group, up to four new surface warships, submarines with cruise missiles, air bases in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean and the maintenance of existing military bases in South Korea and Japan. The proposals come immediately after China's pledge to co-operate with the US fight against terrorism, with Chinese and US intelligence officials meeting in Washington last week. But China's co-operation has apparently not swayed Pentagon officials, who still see China as a serious threat to American interests. "Those who see China as a threat to the United States still see China as a threat, no matter what the Chinese do," Dr Berry said. SCMP.com is the premier information resource on Greater China. With a click, you will be able to access information on Business, Markets, Technology and Property in the territory. Bookmark SCMP.com for more insightful and timely updates on Hong Kong, China, Asia and the World. Voted the Best Online newspaper outside the US and brought to you by the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's premier English language news source. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
