China military rages against US-Australia pact
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-Pastor-Dale-Morgan-
Nov 30, 2011, 8:35:22 AM11/30/11
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China military rages against US-Australia pact
AP
November 30, 2011 11:24PM
AMERICA'S strengthened military pact with Australia is a figment of "Cold War thinking" that will destabilise the Asia-Pacific region, China's Defense Ministry said today.
It was Beijing's strongest criticism yet of a move widely seen as intended to counter China's rising assertiveness.
Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng's comments at a monthly news conference came short of the scathing attacks on the agreement from China's nationalist press and outspoken academics.
However, they appeared to reflect a harder tone from the armed forces, whose expanding budget and reach have rattled many of China's neighbours and prompted them to seek strengthened alliances with the region's dominant military power, America.
"Military alliances were created by history. We think that all moves to strengthen and expand military alliances are a product of Cold War thinking that run counter to the era's trend of peace, development and cooperation," Geng said.
The agreement, announced during a November visit by President Barack Obama to Australia, will send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to Darwin in the Northern Territory for a training hub to help allies and protect American interests across Asia.
Beijing's previous official responses, issued by its Foreign Ministry, were a mild questioning of its appropriateness.
Chinese hardliners have called recent US moves in Asia, including strengthened military ties with allies Japan and the Philippines as well as former enemy Vietnam, a new US containment policy that must be resisted through more active diplomacy.
China military rages against US-Australia pact
AP
November 30, 2011 11:24PM
AMERICA'S strengthened military pact with Australia is a figment of "Cold War thinking" that will destabilise the Asia-Pacific region, China's Defense Ministry said today.
It was Beijing's strongest criticism yet of a move widely seen as intended to counter China's rising assertiveness.
Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng's comments at a monthly news conference came short of the scathing attacks on the agreement from China's nationalist press and outspoken academics.
However, they appeared to reflect a harder tone from the armed forces, whose expanding budget and reach have rattled many of China's neighbours and prompted them to seek strengthened alliances with the region's dominant military power, America.
"Military alliances were created by history. We think that all moves to strengthen and expand military alliances are a product of Cold War thinking that run counter to the era's trend of peace, development and cooperation," Geng said.
The agreement, announced during a November visit by President Barack Obama to Australia, will send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to Darwin in the Northern Territory for a training hub to help allies and protect American interests across Asia.
Beijing's previous official responses, issued by its Foreign Ministry, were a mild questioning of its appropriateness.
Chinese hardliners have called recent US moves in Asia, including strengthened military ties with allies Japan and the Philippines as well as former enemy Vietnam, a new US containment policy that must be resisted through more active diplomacy.
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