The United States said yesterday it will not disengage from Asia despite political and strategic commitments elsewhere, as China told the region it is not a military threat to anyone. The declarations were made at a high-profile conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, of defense ministers and military officials from 26 Asia-Pacific countries. Organizers say the annual meeting provides an opportunity for friends, foes and uneasy neighbors to meet and thrash out issues in private. But there is some blunt talk as well, usually by the United States.
31 May 2008: AP
SINGAPORE: The United States said yesterday it will not disengage from Asia despite political and strategic commitments elsewhere, as China told the region it is not a military threat to anyone. The declarations were made at a high-profile conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, of defense ministers and military officials from 26 Asia-Pacific countries. Organizers say the annual meeting provides an opportunity for friends, foes and uneasy neighbors to meet and thrash out issues in private. But there is some blunt talk as well, usually by the United States.
In his opening speech, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates slammed Myanmar's junta, saying "tens of thousands of lives" were lost because the ruling generals prevented the international community from helping survivors of the May 2-3 Cyclone Nargis with relief aid. "We have reached out. They have kept their hands in their pockets," said Gates. "It's not been us that has been deaf and dumb in response to the pleas of the international community, but the government of Myanmar." But much of his speech was devoted to making it clear that the change in the U.S. administration next year will not lessen America's commitment to Asia, which dates back to World War II.
U.S. interests in Asia "will endure no matter which political party occupies the White House next year," Gates said. Many governments in the region fear that U.S. military and political commitments in the Middle East and Afghanistan will pull it away from eastern Asia and the Pacific. "For those who worry that Iraq and Afghanistan have distracted the United States from Asia and developments here, I would counter that we have never been more engaged with more (Asian) countries," Gates said.
One participant expressed concern that with growing economic uncertainty at home, the U.S. may not be able to afford its huge presence in Asia -- including military bases in Japan, the Philippines and South Korea and a massive naval deployment in the Pacific Ocean. "There are enormous budgetary pressures building up in the United States," said Kishore Mabhubani, a Singapore diplomat. "At some point the US electorate will ask, 'Why do we need to have such a sizable military presence in Asia?"' Although U.S. military bases arouse anger among some in Asia, most governments feel a U.S. presence is crucial -- not only as protection from non-Asian threats, but also to counterbalance the growing military strength of China and the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
China's defense budget for 2008 is reported to be $59 billion (euro 38 billion), up 17.6 percent from a year ago. Other countries say China vastly underreports how much it spends on its military. The Pentagon estimates that China's military expenditure in 2007 was between $97 billion (euro 63 billion) and $139 billion (euro 90 billion). Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian, China's deputy chief of the general staff for foreign affairs, told the conference that only a third of this year's budget will go to buy armaments, with the rest for general maintenance expenses such as salaries and training.
China will always adopt a defensive defense policy. We do not engage in arms race. We are a military threat to no other country. You shall never see hegemony or expansionism," Ma added. The Chinese army is prepared to step up military exchanges with Asia-Pacific nations, as well as cooperate in areas such as counterterrorism and disaster relief, he said. Still, one of China's closest neighbors, Japan, is uneasy. Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said even though China may not be regarded as a security threat, it has a duty to its neighbors to be transparent about its military capabilities
Go to Shangri-La Dialogue homepage
