Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Richard P. Lawless said June 13 at a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee. United States plans to establish a crisis hotline between Washington and Beijing as well as expanded exchanges involving top U.S. and Chinese defense officials to improve mutual understanding, reduce miscalculation, and contribute over time to 'demystifying' one another.
Lawless said that Chinese authorities are ready to move on a telephone link to enable senior-level conversations in the event of a defense crisis.
He estimated that China spends $85 billion to $125 billion on defense -- well below President Bush's proposed U.S. defense budget of $500 billion for next year, but well above Beijing's published figure of approximately $45 billion for 2007.
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he was "encouraged by the recent agreement . . . for a defense hotline to handle security emergencies," but also concerned by China's anti-satellite test and its missile buildup across from Taiwan. (Source: Walter Pincus, Washington Post, Jun 14, 2007).