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“A newly released Pentagon report now claims China’s already substantial military is growing larger and much more effective and that its reach and funding appear to be on the rise. A new fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines, state of the art weapons systems, and so on.” (Fox News)
The U.S. Defense Department’s annual report on China’s military has drawn fire from Chinese officials, who say the Pentagon report exaggerates China’s military power and downplays its more peaceful intentions.
We’re analyzing coverage from CNN, Fox News, Xinhua News, The Global Times, and CCTV.
CNN outlined a few of the Pentagon’s worries from the 83-page report.
“The assessment notes that China has the most active ballistic and cruise missile program in the world, including developing anti-missile technology. Also of concern are Chinese efforts to develop a long-range anti-ship ballistic missile with a reach of more than 900 miles, which would include areas in which the U.S. Navy is active.”
On Fox News, Forbes.com columnist Gordon Chang says the United States has reason to worry about regional stability in light of China’s military power.
“A lot of American military analysts said, “You know, China just wants a small military. They want a small navy. All they wanna do is protect their shores and take Taiwan... But now when we read this report we realize the Chinese want not just Taiwan, but they want sovereignty over the South Chinese Sea. They wanna go out to what’s so-called the ‘Second Island Chain,’ which includes Guam, sovereign American territory.”
A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman defended the country’s military development to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, saying:
"China's military development is reasonable and appropriate, and is aimed to protect its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, as well as keep apace with the rapid military development in the world.”
Another Chinese professor told the Global Times he believes the U.S. report was somewhat more objective than in previous years.
"The harsh rhetoric has been softened, and the Cold War logic in this report appears to be weakened. But it has misinterpreted the growing strength of China's navy, which is aimed at protecting China's interests and regional peace, rather than posing threats in international waters.”
But a Chinese professor on CCTV says the Pentagon report ignores China’s growing role in keeping peace and providing humanitarian aid across the globe.
“For example, China now--and this is a fact that is often ignored by the Western media and Western officials--China is now the largest contributor of peacekeeping forces within the U.N. Its peacekeeping force is as large as the combined forces contributed by the United States, Russia, Great Britain, together.”
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WRITER: Tracy Pfeiffer
PRODUCER: Newsy Staff
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