China arms buildup tilting Taiwan Strait power balance: CIA

China’s military buildup is tilting the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait, CIA Director Porter Goss said on Wednesday in an ominous new assessment of the Asian giant’s rising power. U.S. officials have been warning about China’s aggressive military buildup for some time. But the latest assessment suggests the threat may be growing and plays down more positive aspects of Beijing’s growing international role, which were highlighted in last year’s annual CIA report to the U.S. Congress.

“Beijing’s military modernization and military buildup is tilting the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait,” Goss told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

“Chinese capabilities threaten U.S. forces in the region,” he said. He noted Beijing views Taiwan’s moves toward constitutional reform as creating a “timeline for independence.”

“If Beijing decides that Taiwan is taking steps toward permanent separation that exceed Beijing’s tolerance, we believe China is prepared to respond with various levels of force,” Goss added.

China on Thursday reacted to concerns by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency over its military build-up by telling Washington that the problem lay with the rise of independence forces in Taiwan.

“Currently those that are creating troubles and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific are precisely the independence forces in Taiwan,” foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said. “We hope that U.S. senior officials will have an objective evaluation of the cross strait relations and the situation in the Taiwan Straits... and not send any wrong signals to Taiwan separatist forces.”

Kong said Beijing was willing to work with Washington to maintain peace in the region, but the U.S. should respect its commitments on the “one China policy” that places Beijing as the sole legitimate government of all of China, including Taiwan.

He further said that Beijing’s rise as an economic power would be peaceful.

“Facts have proven that China’s peaceful development not only provides opportunities for peace and development for the region, but also for the world at large,” he said.

The CIA report reflects growing concern in the Bush administration and among U.S. experts about a possible clash between China and self-governing Taiwan that could enmesh the United States. Although the two states do not have formal diplomatic relations, the Taiwan Relations Acts binds the United States to help Taiwan defend itself, including through arms sales.

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