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China accuses US of 'exaggerating' military threat
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Aug 25, 2011

China's state news agency accused the United States Thursday of "exaggerating" the threat posed by its military, after a report said the Asian nation was expanding its maritime power.

The US defence department said in its annual report to Congress that China was increasingly focused on naval power and had invested in hi-tech weaponry that would extend its reach in the Pacific and beyond.

Xinhua said many people in China found it "weird" that the United States, which spends far more on its military than any other country in the world, should highlight Chinese expenditure.

"The report... exaggerated the threat incurred by China's military development in 2010 to the Asia-Pacific region," Xinhua said in a commentary.

"For many in China, it is weird that the Pentagon, whose expenditures reached nearly $700 billion and accounted for over an appalling 40 percent of the world's total in 2010, routinely points its finger at China."

China's People's Liberation Army -- the largest armed force in the world -- is extremely secretive about its defence programmes, which benefit from a huge and expanding military budget boosted by the nation's runaway economic growth.

Beijing announced earlier this year that military spending would rise to 601.1 billion yuan ($91.7 billion) in 2011 and also said it was developing its first stealth fighter jet.

The weapons buildup comes as the Asian economic giant places a growing emphasis on securing strategic shipping lanes and mineral-rich areas in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims sovereign rights to almost all of the South China Sea, although several Southeast Asian countries have competing claims.

Tensions flared this year after the Philippines and Vietnam accused China of becoming increasingly aggressive.

The Pentagon report, released on Wednesday, also renewed US warnings that China was extending its military edge over Taiwan, citing better artillery that could strike targets within or even across the Taiwan Strait.

China considers Taiwan, where the mainland's defeated nationalists fled in 1949, to be a province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, and Xinhua said the report amounted to "interfering".

"The 94-page report, as usual, interferes with the internal issue of China by making wilful comments on the situation across Taiwan Straits," it said.

Xinhua also accused the Pentagon of "overlooking the country's peaceful defence policy" in its report.

"The Pentagon report, submitted to the Congress by the Pentagon annually pursuant to a US law since 2000, has drawn protest from China over its interfering nature, distortion of facts and baseless speculations," it said.

The dispute over Taiwan, including US arms sales to Taipei, has remained a stumbling block to Washington's attempts at promoting a security dialogue with the Chinese military.

However, Xinhua said relations between the US and Chinese militaries had improved over the past year.

It cited a visit to China last month by US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, America's top military official. Mullen's Chinese counterpart Chen Bingde visited the United States in May.




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China bans songs by Lady Gaga, Backstreet Boys
Beijing (AFP) Aug 25, 2011 - China has banned websites from featuring 100 songs by artists from Lady Gaga to the Backstreet Boys, a statement on the culture ministry's website said.

The ministry said it aimed to regulate the "order" of the Internet music market, adding songs that "harm the security of state culture must be cleaned up and regulated under the law".

The notice, issued on August 19 and posted on the ministry's website, included American singer Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory", "Hair", "Marry the Night" and "Bloody Mary".

It did not explain why the songs were banned but China routinely censors anything it considers politically sensitive or offensive.

While "Bloody Mary" ends with the line "Oh, liberdade, mi amor (Oh, freedom, my love)", "Hair" includes the lyrics "This is my prayer/ That I'll die living just as free as my hair".

Boy-band The Backstreet Boys, American R&B singer Beyonce, Canada's Simple Plan and British pop group Take That all had songs on the list -- the third to be issued by China's government.

Asian artists with songs banned included Taiwan's Chang Hui-mei, who previously ran foul of the Beijing government after singing the Taiwan anthem at the inauguration of former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian in 2000.

China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, temporarily banned her from mainland performances and pulled her product advertisements.

Authorities have reportedly blocked some foreign bands from performing live in China, or scrutinised set lists in advance to nix songs considered offensive.

The official squeamishness over headline foreign performances was heightened when Iceland's Bjork closed a 2008 Shanghai show by shouting "Tibet!" at the end of her song, "Declare Independence".

Since 2010, China has required all songs posted on music websites to receive prior approval, in a move the government said was partly aimed at rampant piracy.





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SUPERPOWERS
China state news agency accuses US of 'interfering'
Beijing (AFP) Aug 25, 2011
China's state-run news agency on Thursday accused the United States of "interfering" after a Pentagon report warned that the Asian power's military was increasingly focused on naval power. Xinhua said the annual Pentagon report to US Congress had drawn protest in the past over its "interfering nature" and "distortion of facts", although it welcomed recent improvements in military relations b ... read more


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