Gates to Press China on Iran Nukes

LOLITA C. BALDOR
AP
Sunday November 4, 2007

EN ROUTE TO BEIJING - Robert Gates, making his first visit to China as defense secretary, is expected to press the Chinese to do more to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities.

Before he left Saturday for the trip, Gates made it clear that he is pursuing a closer alliance with China, and said he doesn't see the communist giant as a military threat.

But at the same time, senior defense officials said the Pentagon is still frustrated by China's failure to be more open about its military ambitions. And Gates will probably push China to better explain its anti-satellite test early this year.

In January, a Chinese missile shattered a defunct Chinese weather satellite, drawing immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries, who questioned China's commitment to peaceful development in space. Since then, U.S. officials have struggled to get better answers from the Chinese about it.

(Article continues below)

Both the U.S. and China are touting the Gates visit as a major event, aimed at improving the two countries' military relationship and building trust between them.

In a series of annual reports, the Pentagon has voiced growing concern about China's increased military might and its reluctance to reveal why its annual defense budget has ballooned in recent years.

China raised its military budget by 17.8 percent to about $45 billion this year, the largest annual increase in more than a decade. But U.S. officials believe the spending is even greater than that, and have repeatedly called for greater transparency by the Chinese.

Full article here.

Email This Page to:

 


PRISON PLANET.com     Copyright © 2002-2007 Alex Jones     All rights reserved.