Opinion Rich nation,strong army

Chinese spokesmen offered reassurance by pointing to the fact that China’s defence spending constitutes only 1.28 per cent of the nation’s GDP. They insist that China’s defence expenditure is in line with its national security needs and the imperatives of military modernisation.

Whatever the regional fears and American concerns might be,there is no escaping the fact that China is now the world’s second largest spender on defence,ranking only behind the United States.

It is only natural that as the world’s second largest economy,China would also have the world’s second largest defence budget,now standing at $106 billion. The other four top defence spenders are the United States ($739 billion),Britain ($ 64 billion),Russia ($ 52 billion) and India ($32 billion).

What these numbers don’t tell us is that China’s defence budget is rising rapidly as the US adapts to domestic economic and political pressures to cut its massive defence budget.

Some analysts rightly argue that China’s People’s Liberation Army will take a long time to catch up with the power and technological sophistication of the US armed forces. Chinese scholars point to the fact that US defence expenditure right now is seven times that of Beijing. But objects in the rear view mirror are always closer than they seem.

China’s rising military expenditure is beginning to have an impact on the Asian balance of power,long before Beijing acquires military parity with Washington.

Global gap,local balance

The current wide gap in the defence expenditures of the United States and China hides some important political realities. For example,the US claims a global responsibility and seeks to inject itself in most conflicts around the world.

Despite its recognition of the challenges from a rising China,Washington finds it impossible to extricate itself from the Middle East. While the US intervention in Iraq has drawn to a close,Washington is rattling the sabre against Iran.

China,in contrast,is focused on securing in its own periphery in Asia,and has no desire to compete with the United States in every theatre in the world.

To achieve its immediate political objectives,China does not have to match the United States weapon-to-weapon or equal its defence spending dollar-to-dollar. All it needs to do is to alter the local East Asian balance of power against the United States.

Beijing has smartly adopted an asymmetric strategy that focuses on American military vulnerabilities in Asia — the biggest of which is rooted in geography.

America is physically distant from Asia. Its traditional dominance in Asia rests on two pillars. One is the US military’s ability to operate in Beijing’s front yard — in military parlance,it is called “forward presence”.

The other pillar is Washington’s enduring alliance system with many of China’s neighbours,including Japan,South Korea and the Philippines.

With more money in hand,PLA has concentrated on developing weapons systems,like submarines and anti-ship missiles,that are making it increasingly difficult for the US navy to operate close to China’s shores.

Even as the United States proclaims a “return to Asia”,its military now has to cope with the more constraining environment being shaped by Chinese military power.

Big stick,soft tone

While it put Washington under greater military pressure,Beijing’s assertive behaviour in the maritime territorial disputes with its neighbours in recent years has driven East Asian nations to the United States for protection.

As US alliances acquire a new lease of life in Asia and Washington expands military partnerships in the region,Beijing is learning the virtues of speaking in a soft tone,while its military stick gets bigger.

The Chinese foreign minister,Yang Jiechi,showed off some of the soft touch when he addressed a press conference in Beijing Tuesday. Asked about the US pivot to Asia,Yang said,“We hope to see and welcome a constructive role by the US in this region at the same time we hope that the US will respect China’s interests and concerns.”

“We are ready to work with the U.S. and other countries to develop an Asia-Pacific region that enjoys greater stability and development”,Yang added.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research,Delhi