Rumsfeld: China Sowing Suspicion Over Army

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused China of understating the scope of its defense spending, and he said this is sowing suspicion about how China intends to use its growing military might.

Rumsfeld arrived in the Chinese capital for his first visit since he became President Bush's defense chief in 2001. He was scheduled to meet Wednesday with President Hu Jintao, who also is chairman of the Central Military Commission, which runs the Chinese military.

In an interview aboard his plane en route from Washington, Rumsfeld questioned China's motives in underreporting its defense spending. He mentioned no figures, but the Pentagon said last summer that China may be spending $90 billion on defense this year _ three times the announced total.

"I think it's interesting that other countries wonder why they would be increasing their defense effort at the pace they are and yet not acknowledging it," Rumsfeld said. "That is as interesting as the fact that it's increasing at the pace it is."

Rumsfeld said the U.S. government welcomes China's emergence as an economic power, but he said that development has created "somewhat of a tension" for its communist leaders as they attempt to cope with new influences and ideas that inevitably enter the country along with foreign investment.

"China is an important country in the region; it's a country that's increasingly important in the world," he said.

There is no such thing as the Domino Theory. Ask any Democrat. Ask John Kerry as he was the Vietnam expert. Had he stayed long enough he may have encountered Chinese soldiers also. China is hungry and is spreading across the globe. Clinton Gore gave them weaponry technology and banking rule changes for foreign owned banks. The Democrat congress of the early 90's helped it all along. Thanks Billy

I think we see the world with new eyes, if you think China is some day going to march across the world with new found military might, it isn't going to happen. Most great powers have learn the errors of other great powers. The Soviet who had a vastly larger military than the Chinese, never confronted the US and the West directly. The fought numerous proxy wars, such as Korea and Vietnam, and so it will go with China assuming their is Cold War style confrontation.

I not sure but I think most great powers as well as emerging power realize that no one has enough money to create a military of sufficient advancement to defeat the US. The US simply spends too much on the military and has a twenty year edge on every military outside of , Israel and Britain. It is a matter of threshold, China will never pass the point, in my mind, where they will feel comfortable in confronting the US. For example, the spy plane incident, the accidental bombing of their embassy, and most importantly the 30yr standoff in the Taiwan Strait.

We live in a world of economic struggle and the use of soft power to spread influence. It will be a rare event to see a direct confrontation between nation if it ever happens at all.

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