We don’t have the ability to scare you: China to US

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Associated Press

Posted online: Tuesday , January 15, 2008 at 01:28:12
Updated: Tuesday , January 15, 2008 at 01:43:33

Beijing, January 14: China's top general sought to allay US concerns about his country's military buildup, but defended a decision late last year to deny Hong Kong port calls by an American aircraft carrier and other navy ships.

Gen Chen Bingde, in charge of day-to-day operations for the 2.3 million-member People's Liberation Army, offered no new explanations as to why Beijing turned away the US ships, a move that sparked consternation at the Pentagon.

"The distance between China and US militaries is big.

We don't have the ability to make you afraid of us," Chen, the PLA's chief of general staff, said at the beginning of talks at the Defense Ministry with Adm Timothy Keating, the top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region.

Keating, the head of the US Pacific Command, was making his first trip to China since Beijing turned away the USS Kitty Hawk and five ships accompanying it for a Hong Kong port call in November. The same week, two US Navy minesweepers were also turned away after seeking shelter during a storm.

"China is a country with its own territory. If your ship wants to stop by in Hong Kong you have to follow he international rules and go through some procedures," Chen told Keating.

He did not say whether the ships had failed to follow proper procedures, but said they were welcome to make port calls in the future.

China hinted at the time that its actions were triggered by the US Congress' honoring of the Dalai Lama and US arms sales to China's rival Taiwan. China views the Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader to Tibetans, as a ‘splittist’ who is intent on separating Tibet from China. Beijing considers self-governing Taiwan a breakaway province that it hopes to reclaim.

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