China is facing a tightening military circle
- Source: Global Times
- [22:27 June 14 2009]
- Comments
According to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released in Sweden last week, world military expenditures in 2008 rose 4 percent to a record $1.46 trillion despite the spreading economic recession. And the United States remains the country with the highest military expenditures in the world, accounting for 42 percent of the world's total – more than the sum of the next 14 countries combined.
Chinese must keep a clear head and understand how this money was spent. The military “crescent encirclement” of China formed by the US is expanding.
In the South China Sea, it is reported that the US is seeking to lease the military base in Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay. Once achieved, there will be three US military bases in the region – the other two located at Guam and Singapore's Changi. The three bases form a triangular encirclement of the South China Sea. The US already has two strategic island chains in the Pacific, not including Cam Ranh Bay. Once the US successfully leases it, the chain of islands will be enhanced.
More importantly, compared with any Chinese naval base, the Cam Ranh Bay base has more power to deploy forces to any island in the South China Sea.
And to the northwest, NATO is threatening, too. In May, it conducted two military exercises in Georgia. Some international military critics have claimed that these are not typical NATO exercises, since major NATO countries like Germany, France and Italy did not participate, while most participating countries were former Soviet Union republics like Georgia and the Ukraine, and former Warsaw Pact countries like Hungary and the Czech Republic.
This indicates that NATO's eastward expansion has extended not only to Russia, but also China. In addition, there is a “shadow of NATO,” that is the long-existing US-Japan and US-South Korea military alliances.
Hong Kong Wen Wei Po