BEIJING: China on Wednesday hit out at new US intelligence guidelines which pointed to Beijing as one of Washington’s main challengers, accusing the United States of having a “Cold War mentality”.
“We urge the US side to abandon its Cold War mentality and bias… and stop issuing remarks that mislead the American people and harm mutual trust between China and the United States,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. In a statement posted on the ministry’s website, Jiang urged the United States to correct “mistakes” in the report. The United States released its 2009 National Intelligence Strategy document on Tuesday, in which China’s “natural resource-focused diplomacy and military modernisation” were pinpointed as factors making it a “global challenge.”
However, Jiang sought to ease fears about Beijing’s intentions. “China has always been a firm force in safeguarding and promoting world peace and stability, and China’s development does not threaten any country,” she said. The US intelligence guidelines for the next four years also elevated the importance of the cyber domain, and singled out China as “very aggressive in the cyberworld.” Jiang made no reference to that specific claim.
US commander: The top US military commander for Asia said on Tuesday he was “cautiously optimistic” on forging a conflict-free path ahead with China, despite US concerns about Beijing’s rapid military buildup. Keating, who steps down next month, pointed to China’s resumption of military exchanges with the United States and its landmark anti-piracy naval mission off Somalia, where it cooperated informally with US forces.
“All of which leads me to be cautiously optimistic about the way ahead with China and even more optimistic than that about the region in its entirety,” Keating said at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. The United States and leading regional ally Japan have led calls for China to be more transparent about its military spending, which has grown by double-digit percentages annually for the past two decades.
Keating acknowledged that China was developing “some pretty good capability” in areas ranging from submarines to anti-satellite operations to cyber warfare. But he said tensions have eased markedly since just a few years ago. “We want to draw the Chinese out, we want to ask them to manifest their intentions forward for a peaceful rise and harmonious integration,” Keating said.
But relations could face at least temporary hiccups, he cautioned, if President Barack Obama’s administration agreed to Taiwan’s request to sell it advanced F-16 fighter jets. Keating said there was a “fair likelihood” China would again cut off military exchanges but noted that US policy was set by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. The law required Washington, which switched its recognition to Beijing, to provide the island defensive arms. “I hope China doesn’t react that way. I hope that it will take a longer-term view that our country’s policy on Taiwan has been on the books since 1979,” Keating said. agencies
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i think after the disintergaration of USSR, … US has not left wid a real enemy who can create real trouble 4 it. thats y US govt government tries to create false enemies like Taliban (who in no way combat wid military US with their meager resources) and China (who is so far a peaceful country).