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US Defense Secretary Says China Is Not Strategic Threat
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. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.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." I can't decide whether this is willful ignorance or a desire to play on Chinese feelings of inadequacy... Posted by: DanNY 2007-03-07 |
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