SINGAPORE – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has watched
sharp ups-and-downs in U.S.-China military relations over the past four
years, is hoping to add momentum to a recent improving trend before he
leaves office at the end of June.
Gates was
meeting one-on-one Friday in Singapore with his Chinese counterpart,
Gen. Liang Guanglie, on the opening day of the Shangri-La Dialogue, the
pre-eminent annual Asian security conference where he will deliver a
policy speech Saturday.
In what Gates and
others see as an encouraging sign, China for the first time chose to
send its defense minister to the conference, now in its 10th year.
Guanglie is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on Sunday, one day
after Gates departs.
A central theme of Gates'
message in Singapore is that Asian nations should not believe that
impending U.S. defense budget cuts will lead to a smaller U.S. military
presence in Asia. U.S. officials are concerned that some in the region
could tilt toward China if they believe they are being abandoned by the
U.S. or perceive less-sturdy assurances of American support in the long
run.
The main U.S. military presence in Asia is
in Japan and South Korea, but Washington also has close military ties
to the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore. The Pentagon is in
the midst of an internal review of its force alignment in the region,
with the outcome expected to call for a wider range of military
exchanges, exercises and ship, aircraft and troop rotations in
Southeast Asia.
How that is achieved will depend to a large degree on how deeply the Pentagon cuts its budget in coming years.
President
Barack Obama on April 13 announced a plan to reduce defense spending by
$400 billion over the next 12 years, and some in Congress — as well as
some independent analysts — are calling for far deeper reductions. With
an end in sight for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense savings
are central to a broader effort to shrink government deficits.
Gates
has made relations with China a priority during his 4 1/2 years as
defense secretary, recognizing its increasing economic strength and a
military modernization program that is proceeding apace even as the
U.S. faces budget constraints.
The US-China
relationship is fraught with friction on many fronts: trade and
economic policy, regional and global politics, and defense policy. The
latest stir is over allegations that computer hackers in China broke
into Google's email system, and that personal Gmail accounts of several
hundred people, including senior U.S. government officials, had been
exposed.
The Obama administration said Thursday
that the FBI is investigating, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton told reporters, "These allegations are very serious." Google
said it traced the origin of the attacks to Jinan, China, the home city
of a military vocational school whose computers were linked to a more
sophisticated attack on Google's systems 17 months ago.
In
early 2010 China froze military-to-military relations with the U.S. in
protest of an announced $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, the
autonomous island that Beijing sees as a renegade province. U.S. law
requires weapons support to ensure Taiwan's self-defense.
In
remarks to reporters traveling with him earlier this week, Gates said
he doubts China aims to match U.S. military power but thinks it is
tailoring its buildup in ways that will extend its influence in Asia.
"The
Chinese have learned a powerful lesson from the Soviet experience," he
said, alluding to the economic burden — ultimately unsustainable — that
the Soviets bore in trying to keep up with Washington in a Cold War
arms race.
"But I think they are intending to
build capabilities that give them a considerable freedom of action in
Asia and the opportunity to extend their influence," he said.
He
cited as examples anti-ship missiles, cyber weapons and anti-satellite
weapons. He did not mention Taiwan by name, but there is a worry in
Washington that the Chinese are seeking the means to compel Taiwan to
reunite with the mainland — by force if necessary.
Gates
denies that the U.S. is trying to contain China. He says the U.S.
accepts that Beijing will remain a global power into the foreseeable
future. For that reason it is important that the U.S. remain willing to
talk directly with Chinese leaders, he said.
"We
are not trying to hold China down," Gates said Thursday. "China has
been a great power for thousands of years. It is a global power, and it
will be a global power." AP
