US defense chief in the firing line
Print Edition
TENSIONS between China and the United States were on full display yesterday as US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel faced questions in Beijing about America’s position in territorial disputes with US allies.
Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, standing side-by-side with Hagel, said China would not compromise on issues regarding territory and sovereignty, and called on the US to restrain ally Japan and chided another US ally, the Philippines.
Then, Hagel was sharply questioned by Chinese officers at the National Defense University. One of them told him he was concerned that the US was stirring up trouble in the East and South China Sea because it feared someday “China will be too big a challenge for the United States to cope with. “Therefore you are using such issues to make trouble to hamper (China’s) development,” the officer said.
Hagel faced a blunt reprimand in an earlier meeting with a senior officer, General Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission.
Referring to critical comments by Hagel earlier in his Asia trip, Fan said the “Chinese people, including myself, are dissatisfied with such remarks,” Xinhua news agency reported.
Hagel’s press secretary acknowledged the two shared a “frank exchange of views.”
Hagel said America had no interest in trying to “contain China” and it took no position in such disputes. But he cautioned repeatedly that the US would stand by its allies.
“We have mutual self defense treaties with each of those two countries,” Hagel said, referring to Japan and the Philippines. “And we are fully committed to those treaty obligations.”
Chang said China stands ready to resolve the disputes diplomatically. But he made it clear that China is always ready to respond militarily to threats.
“The armed forces are ready to assemble at the first call and are capable of fighting and winning,” he said.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, the Nansha Islands and their surrounding seas,” the defense minister said.
“We will neither compromise on, concede or trade on territory and sovereignty, nor tolerate them being infringed on even a little bit,” Chang said.
He asked the US to “keep Japan within bounds and not to be permissive and supportive,” and said it was Japan which was being provocative against China.
Chang also said that the Philippines illegally occupies part of China’s islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
He called the Philippines a nation “disguising itself as a victim” and reiterated China’s opposition to Manila’s pursuit of international arbitration in its territorial dispute.
In the defense university speech, Hagel pointed to cybersecurity as an area where the US wants the Chinese to be more transparent.
He revealed publicly for the first time that the Pentagon gave Chinese government officials a briefing on the doctrine that governs the use of the military’s cyber capabilities. He urged China to do the same.
Chang said the PLA abides by the law in its cyber operations and would not pose a threat to others. He said China “stands ready to deepen communication with the US” on cyber issues.
While the disagreements between the US and China were starkly evident, there also was an underlying current of slowly growing cooperation.
The two countries interests outweigh their differences, said Chang, adding that “the Pacific is huge enough to hold both China and the US.”
Hagel said: “Our vision is a future where our militaries can work closely together on a range of challenges, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.”
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