CHINA NEWS
AUGUST 24, 2011, 10:59 P.M. ET.
China Naval Power Draws U.S. Notice
Pentagon Report Flags Carrier, Fighter, Scope of Beijing's Military Ambitions.
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By NATHAN HODGE
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Department released a long-awaited report on China's military power Wednesday that put new focus on its maritime ambitions and highlighted American and regional concerns about Beijing's increasingly assertive military posture.
The report also flagged China's push into weapons technologies where the U.S. has long dominated, such as aircraft carriers and stealth fighters.
"The pace and scope of China's sustained military investment have allowed China to pursue capabilities that we believe are potentially destabilizing to regional military balances, increase the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and may contribute to regional tensions and anxieties," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Michael Schiffer told reporters.
The Pentagon took special note of Beijing's aspiration to project naval power beyond its territorial waters. In the past year, China has alarmed the U.S. and its neighbors with a more combative stance on territorial disputes in the East and South China seas. Earlier this month, China sent its first aircraft carrier on sea trials. While China's navy "retains a decidedly regional focus," the report said Chinese warships "will play a growing role in protecting China's far-flung interests."
Although the carrier, which is based on an empty hull bought from Ukraine, doesn't yet have aircraft, the Pentagon report said it "will likely serve initially as a training-and-evaluation platform." And as early as this year, the report said, "China could begin construction of a fully indigenous carrier which could achieve operational capability after 2015."
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Weapons such as the J-20 stealth jet and longer-range ballistic missiles, the report said, could improve the army's "ability to strike regional air bases, logistical facilities, and other ground-based infrastructure."
The stealth jet, the report stated, underscores "China's ambition to produce a fighter aircraft that incorporates stealth attributes, advanced avionics, and supercruise-capable engines over the next several years."
On the international stage, Beijing has played down its military aspirations. On a Washington visit this spring, Gen. Chen Bingde, the People's Liberation Army chief of general staff, criticized "unfounded suspicion and exaggeration of China's defense and military development."
Previous U.S. reports have focused on what the U.S. military terms China's "anti-access" capabilities, weapons meant to prevent U.S. naval vessels from operating in international waters near China. Among other things, this year's report notes China's efforts to develop ballistic missiles designed to hit ships at sea, as well as investment in attack submarines.
Under a congressional mandate, the Pentagon produces an annual report on China's military capabilities and strategies. In the latest report, it warned of China's interest in developing cyberwarfare capabilities. Several recent cyberattacks on U.S. firms and their networks have been traced to Chinese hackers, although the Beijing government has not been directly implicated.
Rep. Howard McKeon (R., Calif.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said lawmakers would review the document closely. In a statement, Rep. McKeon said China's "increasing assertiveness" might spur a regional arms contest. "This has significant consequences for the security and stability of the region," he said.
The report, which was due in March, was delayed while various government agencies reviewed the document. On Monday, Rep. Randy Forbes (R., Va.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and co-chairman of the Congressional China Caucus, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta chiding the Pentagon for missing its deadline.
June Teufel Dreyer, a University of Miami professor and China military expert, said such delays have in the past been a reflection of internal differences of opinion within and among the national-security agencies. "The later it comes out, the more it is a barometer of the arguments going in the coordination process," she said.
Mr. Schiffer, the Pentagon official, said the delays merely reflected the "banal truth of bureaucracies," and a lengthy coordination process. "To turn out a good product that we were able to coordinate across the U.S. government, because we think that it benefits greatly from that sort of coordination, simply took time," he said.
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