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Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in waters around Mischief Reef in the
disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in a photo taken by a P-8A Poseidon
surveillance aircraft this month. (Handout/Reuters)
By Simon Denyer-May 26
BEIJING China said Tuesday that it plans to extend its global military reach to
safeguard its economic interests, while defending its territorial claims at sea against
provocative actions by neighbors and meddling by the United States.
A policy document setting out Chinas military strategy, issued by the State Council, or
cabinet, underlined the dramatic growth of the countrys defense ambitions
especially its naval ambitions in tandem with its rapid economic rise.
Beijing insisted in the document that its military is dedicated to international security
cooperation and peaceful development. But it also said the navy will expand its focus
from offshore waters defense to a greater emphasis on open seas protection as
China aims to establish itself as a maritime power. The air force, meanwhile, will shift
its focus from territorial air defense to both defense and offense.
Patrick Cronin, director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New
American Security, called the white paper a blueprint for achieving slow-motion
regional hegemony.
It asserts a confidence backed by growing capability on land and increasingly at sea,
he said. While it calls for balancing Chinas territorial rights with stability, there
should be little doubt on the part of its neighbors that China is building a maritime
force to assert the former.
Chinas officially disclosed defense budget was expanded by just over 10 percent this
year, to $141 billion, marking two decades of nearly unbroken double-digit growth. The
navy is reportedly building a second aircraft carrier and has invested heavily in
submarines and warships.
China has made it a strategic goal to become a maritime power, Senior Col. Wang Jin
said at a news conference Tuesday. Therefore, we need to build a strong navy.
He added that the development of long-range precision weapons means that the
battlefield at sea is widening. Offshore-waters defense alone can no longer provide
effective defense of the countrys maritime interests, he said.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said the administration was
aware of the paper and continued to monitor Chinas military developments carefully.
We also continue to urge China to exhibit greater transparency with respect to its
capabilities and to its intentions, he said.
Object 1
The U.S. Navy released this video showing flight operations aboard a P-8A
Poseidon over the South China Sea on May 20, 2015. During the flight, the
crew documented several warnings issued by Chinas navy to leave the
area. (U.S. Navy)
In a move welcomed by other nations, China sent a 700-strong peacekeeping force in
December to South Sudan, where it has extensive oil interests, marking the first time it
has sent an infantry battalion on a U.N. mission.
Beijing also is negotiating with the strategic port nation of Djibouti to open a military
base there to support anti-piracy naval escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and off the
coast of Somalia, the Agence France-Presse news agencyreported this month. The
United States and France already have a military presence in the tiny Horn of Africa
country.
Posted by Thavam