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China may destabilize region: leak
Reuters, SYDNEY
China is hiding the extent of its military build-up, spending double what it
declared in 2006, but may overestimate its might and escalate minor events into
conflict and destabilize the region, a leaked Australian intelligence briefing
said.
A strategic assessment by Canberra¡¦s intelligence agencies found China¡¦s
military spending for 2006 was US$70 billion, double the amount announced by
Beijing, according to US documents provided by WikiLeaks to the Sydney Morning
Herald.
China was building a military capability well beyond its priorities of
self-defense and Taiwan, said Australia¡¦s Office of National Assessments,
Defence Intelligence Organisation and the Defence and Foreign Affairs
departments.
¡§China¡¦s military modernization is beyond the scope of what would be required
for a conflict over Taiwan,¡¨ said the 2006 secret assessment by Australian
foreign affairs officials to the US embassy in -Canberra, published yesterday.
¡§Arguably, China already poses a credible threat to modern militaries operating
in the region and will present an even more formidable challenge as its
modernization continues,¡¨ it said.
China¡¦s military build-up and ¡§the opacity of Beijing¡¦s intentions and programs¡¨
was ¡§already altering the balance of power in Asia and could be a destabilizing
influence.¡¨
The Australian security assessment said China¡¦s military build-up, coupled with
the People Liberation Army¡¦s lack of operational experience, rising nationalism
and a heightened expectation of China¡¦s growing global status, could lead
Beijing to overestimate its military might and spark conflict.
¡§There is the potential for possible misconceptions which could lead to a
serious miscalculation or crisis ¡K and minor events could quickly escalate,¡¨ it
said.
A confrontation with Japan in September, after a Chinese -fishing boat captain
was detained after colliding with two Japanese patrol vessels in disputed waters
in the East China Sea, intensified distrust between the two countries that
continues to cloud their efforts to resume normal relations.
Both countries claim the waters around East China Sea islets ¡X called Senkaku in
Japan and Diaoyu in China ¡X which have plentiful fish and may be near valuable
oil and gas reserves.
Tensions between China and Japan have now eased, but -confrontation between
North and South Korea is proving troublesome for Beijing, under pressure to rein
in Pyongyang, which relies on China for economic and political support.
WikiLeaks has provoked fury in Washington with its publications of secret US
cables and vows to make public the 250,000 embassy documents it had obtained.
WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange is on bail in Britain as he awaits
charges of sexual assault in Sweden.
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