China accuses U.S. of military fear-mongering Wed Mar 5, 9:03 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080306/ts_nm/china_usa_military_dc_2
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top official newspaper on Thursday accused
the United States of exaggerating fears about Beijing's military to
justify its weapons sales to Taiwan, continuing verbal push-and-shove
between the two powers.
The Pentagon's annual re****t on Chinese military power released this
week said China was developing weapons to cripple its foes' space
technology and also linked intrusions into computer networks worldwide
to Beijing.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday that China had
not been clear about the intent behind its growing military spending,
which is budgeted to rise 17.6 percent rise this year from 2007,
reaching 417.769 billion yuan ($58.76 billion).
The U.S. annual defence budget remains more than eight times larger
than China's official number, but Western experts believe China's true
military spending could be triple the official budget.
China has already denounced the Pentagon re****t as unfounded, and now
the People's Daily, the official paper of the ruling Communist Party,
has continued the verbal brawling.
"The re****t uses a great deal of verbiage to exaggerate China's
abilities in space," a commentary in the paper said.
The United States earlier this year rejected a proposal from China and
Russia for a pact to prevent a military race in space, and then last
month it used a missile to smash one of its own faulty spy satellites
from the skies, the paper said.
China used a missile to blow up one of its own satellites early last
year.
The Pentagon re****t also pointed to a growing military gap between
China and Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own and
says must accept reunification, by force if necessary.
"These cliches turn up in the U.S. Defense Department re****t on
Chinese military capabilities every year, and their chief objective is
to concoct an excuse for continued (U.S.) weapons sales to Taiwan,"
said the People's Daily.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China
in 1979, recognising "one China," but is obliged by the Taiwan
Relations Act to help the island defend itself.
China had made a positive contribution in responding to international
crises over North Korea, Iran and Sudan's Darfur region, the paper
added.
"Clearly, China is playing an im****tant role in stabilising the region
and maintaining world peace," it said.
(Re****ting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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