[HOME ] [ABOUT] [PHOTOS] [VIDEO] [BLOG] [HOUSTON] [TEXAS] [U.S. NEWS] [WORLD NEWS] [SPORTS] [POP CULTURE] [CONTACT]
Pentagon predicts China will have one of the most powerful armies in the world by 2020
by Joseph Earnest August 25, 2011
Newscast Media WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Chinese state media has dismissed a report from the Pentagon that suggests China will be one of the most powerful armies by 2020, warning of instability in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the United States Defense Department, China is re-tooling one of the world's most powerful armies much faster than expected - at a time when defense budgets are being cut in almost all other industrialized nations.
"China's modernized military could be put to use in ways that increase China's ability to gain diplomatic advantage or resolve disputes in its favor," the report said
Among the major new developments the Pentagon noted was the launch of China's first aircraft carrier for a maiden run earlier this month. Such measures significantly increase the reach of the Chinese military, and make it able to protect its interests around the world.
The ship is a refitted former Soviet craft, but the report said China could begin construction of a fully indigenous carrier in 2011 that could be operational after 2015. "China likely will build multiple aircraft carriers with support ships over the next decade," the Pentagon declared.
The report also says the January test flight of China's stealth fighter jet, the J-20, "highlights China's ambition to produce a fighter aircraft that incorporates stealth attributes, advanced avionics and super-cruise capable engines over the next several years."
China's stealth fighter jet
China's state-run news agency Xinhua indicated the leadership is not particularly impressed with the Pentagon's warnings.
"The allegation is an utterly cock-and-bull story about the Chinese military based on a wild guess and illogical reasoning," an English-language Xinhua commentary said. "China, which has adhered to a defensive military policy, with its rising economic clout and sprawling commercial and strategic interests around the world, has every right to build a competent military."
There was also a hostile response from China's embassy in Washington, which described the report as "a reflection of cold war mentality" and would be used as a tool to depict China as a threat. The entire report from the Pentagon about China can be read or downloaded here. (pop-up)
|
|
Join the Newscast Media social networks
for current events and multimedia content.
Copyright© Newscast Media. All Rights Reserved. Terms and Privacy Policy