U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said
Wednesday he does not consider China a
strategic threat, in spite of the
country's sharply rising defense
spending and capability. Still, the top
U.S. military officer says the United
States must be prepared to respond to
any threat that develops.
Secretary Gates told a news conference
China's rising military spending does
not by itself represent a threat, unless
it is accompanied by an intention to
confront the United States.
"I do not see China, at this point, as a
strategic adversary of the United
States," said Robert Gates. "It's a
partner in some respects. It's a
competitor in other respects. And so we
are simply watching to see what they're
doing."
Secretary Gates repeated U.S. calls for
more transparency in China's defense
budget, which he said is likely larger
than the official figure. China has
announced an 18 percent increase in its
official defense spending, the largest
in a series of large annual increases.
At the same news conference, the top
U.S. military officer, General Peter
Pace, said even though it is not clear
what China intends to do with its
growing military capability, the United
States needs to be ready.
"When you see the global capacity
growing in any area, we need to make
sure that the United States' military is
capable of handling any threat that
might develop, without regard to current
intent, which is why, in the budget,
when you look at it, there is not only
the money for continuing the global war
on terror, but also ensuring that we
have the air force we need, the navy we
need, and all the things we need for
conventional battles," said said General
Pace.
General Pace said it is important that
any potential U.S. adversary not think
the United States is too busy with the
fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to
respond to any other threat. He said the
U.S. military is committed to
maintaining the ability to, in his
words, "over match" the capability of
any potential adversary.
Earlier Wednesday, the top U.S.
commander in the Pacific, Admiral
William Fallon, told a congressional
committee some of China's military
buildup is aimed at countering U.S.
capabilities. He said China's military
has apparently been told to develop the
ability to take Taiwan by force, if
necessary, and to deal with any U.S.
military help that would be provided to
the island.
He said China's recent test of an
anti-satellite weapon is "clearly" aimed
at countering U.S. military systems,
which rely heavily on satellites for
surveillance and communications. But
other U.S. officials have said the U.S.
military has plenty of back-up systems,
and more are being developed, some of
which do not rely on satellites. |
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美国国防部长盖茨星期三表示，尽管中国的军事预算和军力迅速增长，但他不认为中国是一个战略威胁。不过他说，美国必须准备应对可能出现的任何威胁。
盖茨部长在国防部的一个记者会上说，中国不断增长的军事开支本身并不代表威胁，除非这种增长伴随着与美国对抗的意图。
他说：“目前，我不认为中国是美国的战略对手。在某些方面，它是夥伴；在其他方面，它是竞争对手。所以，我们要观察，看他们在干什么。”
盖茨部长重申美国要求中国的国防预算更加透明。他说，中国的国防预算可能高于官方公布的数字。中国宣布国防预算增长近18%，是连续几年大幅增长以来增幅最大的一年。
在同一个记者会上，美国最高军事官员、参谋长联席会议主席佩斯上将说，尽管不清楚中国打算如何使用其日益增长的军力，但美国需要做好准备。
他说：“当我们看到任何地区的军力增长时，我们都需要确保美国的军力能够应对可能出现的任何威胁。这也是为什么我们的预算中不但有为继续全球反恐战争的拨款，
而且还要保证我们有需要的空军、海军和所有常轨战斗所需要的一切。”
佩斯上将说，有一点至关重要，那就是，任何美国的潜在敌手不要认为美国穷于应付伊拉克和阿富汗的战争而不能对任何其它威胁做出反应。他说，美军致力于维持他所说的“超越”任何潜在敌手能力的力量。
星期三早些时候，美国太平洋地区总司令法伦海军上将对国会的一个委员会说，中国军力提升的一部分是用于对抗美国的能力。他说，中国军方显然已经受命发展在必要的时候以武力夺取台湾的能力，并应对美国可能向台湾提供的任何军事帮助。
他说，中国最近进行反卫星武器试验显然是要抗击美国的军事系统。美军非常依赖卫星进行侦查和通讯联系。但是，其它官员说，美国军方有很多后援系统，并正在开发更多的应急系统，其中一部分并不依靠卫星。 |
