By Eugene Low
US Correspondent in Washington
Rumsfeld’s ‘hawkish’ remarks spark internal debate over Beijing’s military build-up
A debate among Bush Administration officials over China’s defence needs is said to be holding up the release of a Pentagon report on the Chinese military build-up.
Every year, the US Congress requires the pentagon to issue a report on China’s military strategy and modernisation. Last year, the report was released at the end of May.
This year’s report was expected to be released last week following Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s remarks at a security conference in Singapore over the weekend.
Summarising the conclusions of the Pentagon report, he had queried the need for China’s increased defence spending. “It is estimated that China’s is the third largest military budget in the world. Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder: Why this growing investment?
But the negative reaction to his speech is said to have prompted a re-examination of the report’s contents.
Mr Rumsfeld is known to take a hawkish stance on China –a position that often puts him at odds with the more moderate elements within the Bush administration.
A source within the administration said: “Apparently, Rumsfeld does not think China has any business becoming a great power.”
Some officials have disagreed with the conclusions of the report saying China’s military spending does not necessarily make it a threat to the United States. They argue that this expenditure –which pales in comparison tot hat of the US – is legitimate and necessary for China to meet its own defence needs.
The US military budget consumes more than US$400 billion (S$670 billion) annually and accounts for almost half of global defence spending. Experts estimate that China spends between US$50 billion and US$90 billion on defence.
Representing the moderate view in Washington, former secretary of state Colin Powell said on Monday that China’s increased military spending did not make it a threat to the US.
“The threat comes from the capability to execute these plans and the intention to do so,” he said. “My analysis in the last four years is that China has no such intention. China wishes to live in peace with its neighbours and the US.”
Observers said Mr Rumsfeld was impressed with questions thrown at him in Singapore about how to define “legitimate” Chinese defence spending. He also recognised that his speech could be taken to mean that all such expenditure was necessarily bad, which was not his belief.
“So all this adds up to his desire to take a second look at the whole report,” an observer said.
The talk here is that Mr Rumsfeld’s decision to delay the reports release also stems from his desire to see the Pentagon credited with showing “political awareness”.
According to Professor Jonathan Pollack of the Naval War College, President George W. Bush has given little sign that he has aligned himself with the hawks in his administration.
He “realises that he has to rely on China” Prof Pollack told the Boston Globe newspaper. This dependence is especially evident in the six-way talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme. US officials have stressed have stressed the key role Beijing plays in persuading Pyongyang to return to the negotiations, which have been stalled since June last year.
In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, Mr Rumsfeld appeared to soften his comments. Asked if he was concerned about China’s rise, he said: “It is certainly not a threat today or for some period.”
He also said he hoped that its desire for economic growth and for jobs would cause a loosening of the political system. “A result of that would be a China that would enter the world in an orderly way and become engaged economically and politically.”
