Pentagon report singles out China as potential military rival


WASHINGTON (AFP) - A major review of US military strategy singled out China as the country with the greatest potential to challenge the United States militarily.

The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) rated Russia as a "country in transition" that is unlikely to pose a military threat on the scale of the Soviet Union, and said India is emerging as "a great power and a key strategic partner."

The review, which is conducted every four years, said a key goal for the US military in the coming years will be to "shape the choices of countries at a strategic crossroads."

The QDR report noted China's steady but secretive military buildup since 1996.

"Of the major and emerging powers, China has the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that over time offset traditional US military advantages absent US counter strategies," the report said.

The pace and scope of China's military buildup already puts regional military balances at risk, it said.

It listed an array of high end military capabilities that China is investing in.

They include electronic and cyberwarfare, counter-space operations, ballistic and cruise missiles, advanced integrated air defense systems, next generation torpedoes, advanced submarines, land and sea-base strategic nuclear missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

"These capabilities, the vast distances of the Asian theater, China's continental depth, and the challenge of en route and in-theater US basing place a premium on forces capable of sustained operations at great distances into denied area," the report said.

It said US policy aims at encouraging China to choose a path of peaceful economic growth and political liberalization, rather than military threat or intimidation.

But, it said, "The outside world has little knowledge of Chinese motivations and decision-making or of key capabilities supporting its military modernization."

"The United States encourages China to take actions to make its intentions clear and clarify its military plans."

Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said the United States wanted to be a partner in China's peaceful rise, but have the means to dissuade it from taking an adversarial path.

"We think China should have a military capability sufficient to meet its genuine security needs," he told reporters. He indicated those should be regional in scope.

The report also flags US worries about Russia, citing the erosion of democracy there and restrictions on non-governmental organizations and press freedoms.

"Internationally, the United States welcomes Russia as a constructive partner but views with increasing concern its sales of disruptive weapons technologies abroad and actions that compromise the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of other states," it said.

In the case of India, the report foresaw "continued and increased strategic cooperation."

QDR Available at:www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/QDR20060203.pdf

I hope we fight one of them soon.

All funded by you, me and your local wally world.
We either give them our technology or they lie, cheat or steal it and will use it against us.
And Nero fiddles as Rome burns.

I wish there was an American Wally world...

Gee China's a THREAT?...go on, you've got to be kidding. Seriously?

NO SHIT! 'bout time SOMEONE woke up and realized this

Quoted: Gee China's a THREAT?...go on, you've got to be kidding. Seriously? NO SHIT! 'bout time SOMEONE woke up and realized this

A BIG FAT +1

Ah, that wonderful government of ours, always on the cutting edge

Quoted: Gee China's a THREAT?...go on, you've got to be kidding. Seriously? NO SHIT! 'bout time SOMEONE woke up and realized this

They must have hired some high ASVAB scorers at the Pentagon.

Double-edged sword of a sovereignty.

As much as I don't like to see China of Iran building nuclear capability, they are sovereign nations.  As long as they don't make any moves against us, it's their country.  All we can do is try to persuade them to do otherwise, unless they take any sort of aggressive actions outside their domain.  Likewise, we are also w/ in our sovereign right to build up our own military strength.  I don't want the U.N. telling this nation what it can or can't do w/ in its own borders, & I don't expect any other country to feel any differently.

As for companies offshoring labor, blame it on the consumer.  Like it or not, you vote w/ your wallet & companies respond accordingly.

Quoted:As for companies offshoring labor, blame it on the consumer.  Like it or not, you vote w/ your wallet & companies respond accordingly.

There's no company salary withholding for Fed/State social programs, medical care, income tax confiscation for foreign workers. So a company will probably save a ton of money on the costs of local/state/federal government.

I don't want to charge my customers more money so I can pay the 'gubment more. I don't want to charge my customers more money because 'gubment takes so much that my workers need a pay raise.

Quoted: Well, all those countless billions of dollars that Americans are spending on Chinese  crap at Wal-Mart and other places are sure going to good use,  aren't they? Wake up, America.  Your insatiable appetite for CHEAP is enriching COMMUNIST CHINA,  a country that has NEVER renounced any aspect of Communism but DOES exploit capitalism as a TOOL for the advancement of their communist goals. Quit buying Chinese shit, people!     CJ

Show me where I can buy 100% American made goods, have everything I need and do it on an average income.  Where did your computer come from?  What about your printer?  Your children's toys?  Your clock/radio?  Your ink pens?  The binder on your day-timer?  The light fixtures in your house?  Your flashlights?  Your kitchen utensils?  

Is your house clean of chinese goods?

Well.....DUH!!!!

Over the past 25 years, a prominent and consistent conclusion of Western research on China’s defense-industrial complex has been that it is rife with weaknesses and limitations. This study argues for an alternative approach. From the vantage point of 2005, it is time to shift the focus of research to the gradual improvements in and the future potential of China’s defense-industrial complex, rather than concentrating on its past and persistent weaknesses. Certain Chinese defense-industrial enterprises are designing and producing a wide range of increasingly advanced weapons that, in the short term, will enhance China’s military capabilities in a possible conflict over the future of Taiwan and, in the long term, China’s military position in Asia.

Link to: RAND Project Air Force

Rand Reports in PDF Format: Right Click to Save

A New Direction for China's Defense Industry


The Military Potential of China’s Commercial Technology

Well, my monitor is Made In The USA... and includes parts from Japan.

You guys think that Japanese manufacturers are bulding factories here in the US mainland just to get closer to their customers? They're also here just in case the Chinese commies screw with them. The Japanese are smart. They can move their operations to the USA on relatively short notice and start exporting from the US mainland after we win the war.

The QDR, and before it the BUR, were great ideas that failed to achieve any of their objectives, other than creating a justification for maintaining current force structure and resisting change.  I haven't read the 2005 version, but don't have high hopes for it to have much more effect than the 93 BUR and 97/01 QDRs.