Pentagon speaks out on Beijing's aerospace ambitions

Beijing is directly challenging 25 years of US dominance, forcing the Pentagon to research new aerospace technologies to stay ahead of its rapidly evolving rival, a US defense official said.

China successfully test-launched the Long March 2F rocket, sending the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft into orbit. (Photo: Space).

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Work told military personnel and aerospace experts on June 22 that China is “rapidly closing the technological gap with the United States.” Beijing is developing radar-evading stealth aircraft, advanced reconnaissance aircraft, sophisticated missile systems and sophisticated electronic warfare equipment.

“Those are the capabilities that make us see China growing and being able to deal with that is critically important,” Mr. Work said yesterday.

“While we remain hopeful for a constructive relationship with China, the Pentagon cannot overlook the competitive side of the relationship, particularly in the military, an area where China is advancing at an impressive pace,” Work stressed.

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense also said that Washington has relied on technological superiority for more than 25 years, but now “the boundaries of this superiority that the US is accustomed to… are eroding”.

To address this problem, according to Mr. Work, the US Department of Defense is developing new technologies to ensure superiority and reduce the cost of responding to attacks. Directed energy weapons are a typical example, as they can shoot down missiles that cost hundreds of times more than a beam of energy.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Work made the comments in a speech at the China Aerospace Industry Research Initiative, a joint initiative by the US Air Force and the RAND Corporation, a think tank. The initiative aims to boost Washington's research into Beijing's aerospace ambitions.

The conference was held as hundreds of Chinese officials were in Washington for the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (which began today), which included meetings on areas of cooperation as well as disagreements.

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense also said yesterday that Chinese and US leaders both see the bilateral relationship as an opportunity to open up a range of cooperative activities, while also fraught with competition. “We hope that over time, the areas of cooperation will outweigh the aspects of competition,” Mr. Work said.

(According to Dan Tri)