China Issues Protest Over US Report on Military

[Feuer Frei!]

Remember this?
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=187153

Well:

China formally protested over a Pentagon report on the Chinese military Friday, calling it a major distortion that flew in the face of a warming trend in relations between the two nations and their militaries.The United States' annual assessment of China's military capabilities and doctrine "seriously twists the facts and doesn't have a leg to stand on," the Defense Ministry said in a statement read on national television.
The Pentagon report issued Wednesday said Beijing is on track to achieve its goal of building a modern, regionally focused military by 2020, citing the development of a new stealth fighter, an aircraft carrier and a record number of space launches over the past year.
China's response accused the U.S. of spreading illegitimate concerns about a Chinese threat to regional security and of ignoring China's insistence that its military posture is purely defensive. Beijing said its military developments are a natural outgrowth of technological advances and not directed at any third parties, but didn't point to any specific claims in the report.


SOURCE

[Kazuaki Shimazaki II]

ignoring China's insistence that its military posture is purely defensive.

As a Japanese, I find this part particularly ironic.

[NeonSamurai]

Any idiot who knows anything about military equipment knows full well China is building up its ability to project power. You don't get aircraft carriers just for them to sit in home port.

[Platapus]

And what is wrong with China "projecting power" when the United States has been doing that for decades?

China also has a responsibility to ensure that their sea access remains.

[Molon Labe]

I don't think there is anything wrong with China developing carriers and improving its navy generally. However, as long as they continue to deploy thousands of missiles pointed at Taiwan, they shouldn't expect other countries to treat their military expansion with anything other than mistrust.

[TLAM Strike]

Twice in the last century the free nations of the world were attacked and those attackers then came after us. Following that the free nations of the world banded together in mutual defense with the US as its de facto military leader ready to come to the aid of any ally in distress.

China has no allies, just client states. China has the worlds largest army, navy and second largest air force. China also claims the territories of several of its neighbors- democratic or otherwise.

The whole free world is watching you China, America is just its leader.

[NeonSamurai]

Originally Posted by Platapus

And what is wrong with China "projecting power" when the United States has been doing that for decades?

China also has a responsibility to ensure that their sea access remains.

Given their aggressiveness towards their neighbors (Tibet & Taiwan off the top of my head), and their need for resources. I fully expect China to start something in the next while. They are also already way beyond their neighbors militarily as it is. What they are doing is setting themselves up to be a threat to the western world (anti aircraft-carrier missiles, their own carriers, anti ship missiles, etc.). I am also concerned about any country that has the level of corruption that China does.

Anyhow their claims that they are doing all of this for purely defensive reasons is total hogwash.

[Kazuaki Shimazaki II]

Personally, I can buy the anti-carrier missiles as defensive - they DO have a legitimate need to deter American carriers. The carrier breaks the back though - a training carrier is the worst answer because it just delays the answer.