Pentagon's tone softens on Chinese military growth

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Although the United States has toned down accusations about China's military expansion in its report released on Friday, some judgments made by the Pentagon might still further disrupt rocky Sino-US military ties, some analysts have said.

In its annual report on the development of China's military, the US Department of Defense said China is pursuing fast military modernization to help expand its economic and diplomatic interests around the world, including the possible construction of China's first domestically built aircraft-carrier.

It also claimed China was carrying out aggressive cyber espionage. It further pointed out that many of the cases of global cyber intrusion and data theft in 2011 originated within China, and it said the Chinese government is using cyber technology to collect strategic intelligence from the US government and private companies. Beijing expressed its "firm opposition" to the findings of the annual assessment.

The release of the report was also coupled with an action in the US House of Representatives, which voted to force President Barack Obama's administration to authorize the sale of 66 new fighter jets to Taiwan, which China considers to be historically part of its territory.

However, the measure, part of the National Defense Authorization Act, is not likely to get further approval from the Senate, according to US media.

This year's report is much shorter than previous ones, and it was released in a low-profile manner. Some US analysts and media said that the annual assessment of China's military resembled previous reports but adopted more diplomatic language -possibly to avoid aggravating delicate relations with Beijing.

China's military buildup is a central focus of the Obama administration, which is shifting its attention toward the Asia-Pacific region after a decade of wars in the greater Middle East, the Associated Press reported. The US is not building new permanent bases in Asia but is seeking more security partnerships in the region.

The report emphasized the US efforts to build a "healthy, stable, reliable and continuous "military-to-military relationship with China, which the Pentagon views as an essential component of the overall bilateral relationship.

China's growing military capability means opportunities for the two countries to tackle the common challenges together, such as noncombatant evacuation, counter-piracy and peacekeeping, according to the report.

Questions:

1. What did Beijing express to the findings of the annual assessment?

2. What did an action in the US House of Representatives vote to do?

3. What common challenges can the two countries tackle together?

Answers:

1. “Firm opposition”.

2. Force President Barack Obama's administration to authorize the sale of 66 new fighter jets to Taiwan.

3. Noncombatant evacuation, counter-piracy and peacekeeping.

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.