By: Trevor Loudon
New Zeal
From The Telegraph:
China is preparing for conflict ‘in every direction,’ the defense minister said on Wednesday in remarks that threaten to overshadow a visit to Beijing by his US counterpart next month.
“In the coming five years, our military will push forward preparations for military conflict in every strategic direction,” said Liang Guanglie in an interview published by several state-backed newspapers in China. “We may be living in peaceful times, but we can never forget war, never send the horses south or put the bayonets and guns away,” Mr. Liang added.
China repeatedly says it is planning a “peaceful rise” but the recent pace and scale of its military modernization has alarmed many of its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific, including Japan which described China’s military build-up as a “global concern” this month…
China also announced this month that it was preparing to launch its own aircraft carrier next year in a signal that China is determined to punch its weight as a rising superpower. The news came a year earlier than many US defense analysts had predicted.
What does Beijing know that Washington doesn’t?
