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Opening
Statement of Chairman Floyd Spence at Open
Hearing on China's Strategic Intentions and
Goals
Today,
the full committee meets for the first of
several hearings intended to review China's
foreign policy, security strategy, military
capabilities, and view of the United States. This morning's hearing will explore
China's strategic intentions and goals.
Today,
the United States has roughly 100,000 military
personnel deployed in the Asia-Pacific region
defending America's interests. These interests - which are political, economic, and
military - appear to be increasingly
challenged by China, which is posturing to
become the dominant power in Asia. The divergent security interests
between the United States and China,
especially as they relate to Taiwan, have led
to increased concern that our two nations may
be on a path that leads to more serious
confrontation in the future.
Despite
the evolution of our relationship with China
over the past several decades, I am concerned
that China's goals and policies may not be
as benign as some might hope. Certainly, a significant body of
Chinese writings and statements give me pause
about China's true intentions and its view
of the United States. Unfortunately, I believe a
misunderstanding of China's strategic
objectives has been compounded by a failure to
effectively communicate American interests in
the Asia-Pacific region and American
intentions to defend those interests. The result has been a more assertive
Chinese foreign policy, an increased risk of
Chinese miscalculation, the undermining of the
strategic partnership that the United States
and China once enjoyed, and an increase in the
risk of military confrontation.
Ironically,
it seems that U.S. relations with China were
better during the Cold War than they are
today. China
actually helped the West wage the Cold War
against the Soviet Union, supporting freedom
fighters in Afghanistan and tying down dozens
of Soviet divisions on its frontier, divisions
that otherwise would have threatened Western
Europe. These actions by China were not altruistic, to be sure, but
coincided with Beijing's strategic
interests-that is what a real "strategic
partnership" is all about.
Now,
it appears that this strategic partnership
with China is over.
In
recent years, China has threatened the United
States over our support for Taiwan -
including raising the possibility of nuclear
war. China
is also pursuing a significant strategic
forces modernization program, and is greatly
increasing the quality of its conventional
forces for the explicit, officially-stated
purpose, of challenging the United States in
the China Seas - waters that are crucial to
the U.S. for sustaining its relations with
Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
China
is also recognized by the intelligence
community as one of the most serious
proliferators of weapons of mass destruction
technology in the world today. Moreover, China is strengthening its political and military
ties with Russia in ways that seek to isolate
the United States diplomatically and limit
U.S. influence in the region. These do not appear to be the actions
of a "strategic partner."
In
light of these actions, I am perhaps most
troubled by the Administration's policy with
respect to Taiwan. The Administration's obvious
reluctance to arm Taiwan - a democratic
friend of the United States - sends a
dangerous message to Beijing. Similarly, the Administration's
failure to sanction China for its
proliferation practices and its failure to
discourage China from pursuing stronger
security ties with Russia represent further
examples of dangerous miscommunication.
In
sum, I am concerned that China's intentions
toward the United States may be more
threatening than is widely accepted. If so, current Administration policy
may be reinforcing China's behavior and
setting the United States and China on a
collision course.
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