- Several members of Congress oppose an
admiral's proposal to ease restrictions on military exchanges with China,
a move they say could boost Beijing's forces and runs counter to a policy
the Pentagon openly supports.
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- Adm. William Fallon, the commander
of Pacific forces, sees the move as a way to prompt Beijing to be more
transparent about its military buildup and to increase mutual understanding
and thus avoid any "miscalculation," said Capt. Jeff Alderson,
a Pacific Command spokesman.
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- Adm. Fallon raised the issue with
reporters on Monday in Shenyang, China, where he ended a four-day visit.
Pentagon spokesmen had no immediate comment, but a Defense Department official
has told Congress the restrictions are "good."
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- After a series of compromises on weapons
and war fighting involving visiting Chinese military officers, Congress
in 2000 passed a provision of the defense authorization bill that restricted
exchanges with China.
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- "Much of the Chinese military
capabilities can be traced back to the gullibility of Americans who foolishly
thought that their partnership was reciprocal," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,
California Republican, said in a statement.
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- "The statement by Adm. Fallon
shows that our U.S. military is playing a deadly game of misconception
that will make the communist party more prosperous and places the U.S.
government on the side of an oppressive dictatorship rather than with the
democratic reformers in China."
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- One Pentagon official said that lifting
the restrictions is a bad idea and would prompt requests from China for
information that could boost its military capabilities.
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- Capt. Alderson said Adm. Fallon did
not say he planned to lobby Congress to lift the restrictions, as reported
by the Associated Press.
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- "The admiral's point to the Chinese
is that he is limited in the types of exchanges he can conduct with them
because Chinese military modernization has not been transparent and Congress
legislated restrictions in the 2000 National Defense Authorization Act,"
Capt. Alderson said in an e-mail sent while traveling with Adm. Fallon.
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- Capt. Alderson said that if China
responds positively, "the admiral is willing to consider proposing
to the secretary of defense that we ask to lift some or all of the current
restrictions."
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- Peter Rodman, assistant defense secretary
for international security affairs, told a congressional commission in
March that the Pentagon agreed in October to cautiously expand military
contacts with China. He noted the danger of any conflict with China over
Taiwan.
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- Mr. Rodman, however, said all exchanges
will follow legal guidelines contained in the defense authorization law.
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- "We do nothing in our contacts
with China that would knowingly enhance the military capability of the
People's Liberation Army," he said. "Those are good guidelines."
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- Rep. Rob Simmons, Connecticut Republican,
said he opposes closer military ties with China but favors increasing exchanges
with Taiwan. The fiscal 2007 defense authorization bill contains language
that would boost U.S. military ties to Taiwan, said Mr. Simmons, who supports
the measure.
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- The Pentagon's annual report on China's
military and a recent strategy review highlight the threat posed by China,
he said.
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- "It wasn't too long ago one of
our surveillance aircraft was harassed, crashed into by a [Chinese] MIG
and forced to make an emergency landing on Hainan island," Mr. Simmons
said of the April 2001 EP-3 incident.
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- "Our crew was held hostage for
over a week and then our aircraft was not allowed to leave. Is this ancient
history?"
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