Rumsfeld warnt vor Chinas Waffenarsenal

US-Verteidigungsminister Donald Rumsfeld warnte heute in Singapur davor, dass die Sicherheit Asiens durch die wachsenden militärischen Bestrebungen Pekings gefährdet sei:

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today that the rapid development of China's missile capabilities, air force and navy put Asia's military balance at risk and that the Pentagon believed Beijing's buildup had been far more extensive than its leaders had admitted. In his most blunt assessment to date of the global implications of China's efforts to build a state-of-the-art arsenal, Rumsfeld warned that the expansion threatened not only the delicate balance between China and Taiwan, but the overall strategic equilibrium in a region increasingly vital to U.S. interests. Speaking to Asian defense ministers at an annual security conference, the Defense chief revealed details about an upcoming Pentagon report on China, which has the world's third-largest military budget and the largest in Asia. "China appears to be expanding its missile forces, allowing them to reach targets in many areas of the world, not just the Pacific region, while also expanding its missile capabilities here in the region," Rumsfeld said. "Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder: Why this growing investment?" Rumsfeld's remarks appear to have been an opening salvo in what could become a high-level public debate about the threat a modern Chinese military poses to the global balance of power. Indeed, he drew an immediate response from Cui Tiankai, director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Asia bureau, the top Chinese official at the conference. "Do you truly believe that China is under no threat whatsoever from any part of the world?" Cui asked. "And do you truly believe that the United States feels threatened by the so-called emergence of China?" Rumsfeld replied that he knew of no nation that menaced China and that the United States did not feel threatened by China's growing power. At the same time, Rumsfeld said, the rising level of Chinese military activities in the region — especially those aimed at Taiwan — is undeniable.

Die wirtschaftspolitischen Spannungen zwischen Washington und Peking werden so nun auch auf der Seite militärischer Machtpolitik ergänzt. Mehr dazu u.a. in der New York Times oder von dpa.