Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in an unusually blunt public critique of China, said today that Beijing's military spending threatened the delicate security balance in Asia and called for an emphasis instead on political freedom and open markets.
In a keynote address at an Asian security conference here, Rumsfeld argued that China's investment in missiles and up-to-date military technology posed a risk not only to Taiwan and to U.S. interests, but to nations across Asia that view themselves as China's trading partners, not rivals.
By Thom Shankar
SINGAPORE - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in an unusually blunt public critique of China, said today that Beijing's military spending threatened the delicate security balance in Asia and called for an emphasis instead on political freedom and open markets.
In a keynote address at an Asian security conference here, Rumsfeld argued that China's investment in missiles and up-to-date military technology posed a risk not only to Taiwan and to U.S. interests, but to nations across Asia that view themselves as China's trading partners, not rivals.
He said no "candid discussion of China" could neglect to address these military concerns directly, and he criticized China for not admitting the full extent of what he described as its worrisome military expansion.
"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," he said. "Since no nation threatens China, one wonders: Why this growing investment?"
Rumsfeld's remarks come as Washington's stance regarding Beijing appears to be growing more critical. The United States has accused China of manipulating the value of its currency, for example, in order to increase exports, and of exerting heavy-handed pressure on Taiwan.
A joint warning from the U.S. and Japanese defense and foreign ministers has rankled Chinese leaders, as has the Bush administration's insistence that Europe must not ease curbs on arms sales to China.
The administration increasingly has been disappointed by China's apparent reluctance to press North Korea to resume talks about its nuclear weapons programs, as Rumsfeld again urged China to do.
Perhaps because of Rumsfeld's emphasis on military developments as well as trade and democracy, his remarks, while measured, were more critical in tone than those heard in recent weeks from administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who visited China in March. Before the election last year, she and her predecessor, Colin Powell, both said relations were better than they had been in years.
Comments about China also stood in contrast to those about the other power in Asia: India. On the flight to Singapore, Rumsfeld said ties with India would strengthen while those with China could fray if Beijing did not open its society more.
Rumsfeld previewed findings of the Pentagon's annual report to Congress about the Chinese military, saying, "China's defense expenditures are much higher than Chinese officials have publicly admitted. It is estimated that China's is the third-largest military budget in the world, and now the largest in Asia."
Warnings about China's military modernization have been issued before, but Rumsfeld's remarks were notable because they came at an Asian security conference attended by defense ministers and military specialists from across Asia and the Pacific Rim.
"The world would welcome a China committed to peaceful solutions and whose industrious and well-educated people contribute to international peace and prosperity," Rumsfeld said.
That requires China to match its economic liberalizations with domestic political freedoms, he said, which in turn would bring clear benefits to Beijing because "China would appear more as a friend and a welcome partner."
