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China defends military buildup, urges calm in NKorea row

US, China need transparent military ties: Gates
The United States and China need to cooperate on security matters and maintain transparent military ties, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said here Saturday. "It is essential for the United States and China to find opportunities to cooperate wherever possible," Gates told a high-level security forum in Singapore. "This includes maintaining a defence relationship marked by consistent and open channels of communication and contact," he said. "Likewise, it is essential that we are transparent -- both to each other and the rest of the world -- about our strategic goals, political intentions, and military development." China's support is widely seen as crucial to resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis because it is one of the few states with an influence on the isolated Stalinist regime in Pyongyang. The United States, China and other UN Security Council members have been studying possible sanctions against North Korea over its second nuclear test staged Monday, which was followed by short-range missile exercises. The White House said Thursday that China was being "very helpful" in the efforts to censure North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests.

Japan will never attack first: defence minister
Japan would not initiate any hostilities against North Korea but is ready to defend itself, its defence minister said Saturday amid international tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada, speaking at a high-level security forum in Singapore, said Tokyo would be transparent with its military hardware purchases in order to prevent any misunderstanding with neighbours. "We have mentioned that North Korea is a threat because of what has happened in the past but unless there are other countries moving to us, we will never start an action as such," Hamada told delegates at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue on security. "In Japan, we have various and numerous constraints and internationally, we have also made clear that we do not use force in order to resolve conflict situations," he said. He told the forum Tokyo was looking at a range of weapon procurements including the F-22 fifth-generation fighter aircraft but stressed these were "only for the defence of the country as such." "So we would be making clear our intentions so that there is no room for misunderstanding and we will make sure that we will explain our intentions very clearly to other countries," he added. Kim Jong-Il's North Korean regime said it staged its second atomic bomb test on Monday and renounced the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953. Pyongyang fired another short-range missile Friday and US satellite photos have revealed vehicle activity at two sites in North Korea, suggesting the regime may be preparing to launch a long-range missile, two US defence officials said on Friday. Under its US-imposed 1947 pacifist constitution, Japan renounced using or threatening force in international disputes but it nonetheless has one of the world's best-funded militaries, the Self-Defence Forces (SDF). The country's military has no aircraft carriers, long-range missiles or other weapons that would enable it to strike far beyond its shores.
by Staff Writers
 Singapore (AFP) May 30, 2009
 China on Saturday defended its military buildup and called for calm over North Korea as the global community looked to Beijing for a breakthrough in efforts to stop Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, told a top-level security forum here that China will "consistently" adhere to a "military strategy of active defence."

But he also said Beijing needed to boost its military capabilities to counter security threats and support its commitments to help ensure international peace and stability.

China's neighbours and the United States have been wary of its growing military might due to fears that Beijing might be harbouring territorial and other strategic ambitions.

Ma also said China understood the concerns of Pyongyang's other immediate neighbours -- Japan and South Korea -- and that "we are resolutely opposed to nuclear proliferation."

Dressed in his military uniform and speaking to defence chiefs, military officers, security analysts and diplomats at the Singapore conference, Ma sought to assure China's neighbours of Beijing's peaceful intentions.

"China steadfastly pursues a policy of building friendship and partnership with neighbouring countries... (and) adheres to a defence policy which is defensive in nature and a military strategy of active defence," he said.

China is committed to developing military ties with other countries and has been a "positive participant" in various regional security forums, he said.

Ma also cited the Chinese navy's participation in an international effort to secure the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia from pirates.

Chinese naval ships escorted 166 commercial vessels in 41 missions, provided area cover for 46 vessels and "successfully rescued" three foreign ships from pirate attacks, Ma told the conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

"These fully demonstrate China's commitment to its international obligations as a responsible major country and the PLA's positive approach to maintaining international and regional peace and security," Ma said.

Speaking at the same forum, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the United States and China need to cooperate on security matters and maintain transparent military ties.

"This includes maintaining a defence relationship marked by consistent and open channels of communication and contact," Gates said.

It is also important for both countries to remain open about their "strategic goals, political intentions and military development," the US defence chief said.

China's support is widely seen as crucial in resolving the North Korean nuclear impasse because it is one of the few states with any influence over the isolated Stalinist regime in Pyongyang.

Ma in his speech appealed for calm over North Korea's nuclear weapons test amid fears that Pyongyang was preparing to fire a long-range missile.

He said China understood the concerns of Japan and South Korea and that "we are are resolutely opposed to nuclear proliferation.

"Our view is that the Korean peninsula should move towards denuclearisation and we hope that all parties concerned will remain cool-headed and take measured measures to address the problem."

Tensions have heightened on the Korean peninsula since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's regime tested a nuclear bomb Monday, its second such test, and renounced the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.

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