'Changing world' behind concerns

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-21 07:44

The country's security concerns stem from the complicated environment both at home and abroad, the authorities said in a white paper on defense released yesterday.

The nation is facing a world that is undergoing "great transformations, changes and adjustments", the 95-page document said.

"China is faced with the superiority of developed countries in economic, scientific, technological and military terms," the document said.

"It also faces strategic maneuvers and containment from the outside while having to face disruption and sabotage by separatist and hostile forces from the inside," the paper said.

"The US has increased its strategic attention and input toward the Asia-Pacific region, further consolidating its military alliances, adjusting its military deployments and enhancing its military capabilities," it said.

"The relationship between China and the world is seeing a historic change," said Ci Guowei, director of the foreign affairs office of the defense ministry, during his briefing of the biennial document to military attaches from 76 countries in Beijing yesterday.

The situation painted by the latest white paper highlights how the country is still being confronted with long-term, complicated, and diverse security threats and challenges, said Chen Zhou, a Beijing-based senior military researcher.

In one instance, the white paper said that China has security concerns over major issues such as military alliances, missile defense, non-proliferation, and more recently, the buildup of arms in outer space.

It also said those seeking independence for Taiwan, and the Tibet and Xinjiang autonomous regions threaten China's unity and security, which are closely linked to the country's most fundamental and core interests.

"The Chinese army will not compromise on these matters," Hu Changming, chief spokesman for the defense ministry, said yesterday at a press conference.

Security issues are now diverse and interwoven, containing traditional security problems and non-traditional security threats, namely terrorism, natural disasters, economic and information security threats, said Chen, who is with the Academy of Military Science in Beijing.

The country is still a developing one facing the challenges of industrialization and information technology, he said.

"This is a new task for the Chinese armed forces - to safeguard development and promote peace," Chen told China Daily.