The United States is quietly promoting a new arms race in Asia, number one of which is a campaign to pressure the parliament of Taiwan to approve the purchase of $10 billion in U.S. armaments, said William D. Hartung, a Senior Research Fellow at the World Policy Institute.. Hartung stated in summary:
After Taiwan's elected representatives recently turned down the package for the 70th time, they were roundly criticized by Stephen Young, the top U.S. official in Taipei. "We believe that Taiwan is not respondingappropriately to the steady buildup of the military across the Taiwan Strait," asserted Young. He suggested that the failure to buy more U.S. arms -- from submarines to Patriot missiles - "causes Taiwan's friend, the United States, to question whether our security partner here is serious about maintaining a capable defense."
China's recent decision to increase its military budget by 18% may sound ominous, but it must be seen in the context how low Beijing's spending is compared with the United States. The U.S. military budget is now running at $440 billion per year, not counting the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is more than five times China's $84 billion level. . .
Why the rush to pour U.S. arms into the region?
The answer is one part ideology and one part greed. Hard-line elements within the administration and among its allies at the Heritage Foundation and other right-wing think tanks have been busily working to portray China as the ultimate "rogue state" -- a more economically vibrant version of the old Soviet Union.
The ideological drive to demonize China conveniently coincides with the interests of the military-industrial complex . One day the war in Iraq will end, and arms makers and their allies in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill will be searching for new rationales to keep weapons factories running full speed ahead. An F-22 sale to Japan may help bail out Lockheed Martin, which has seen Air Force orders drop from an original target of 750 planes to 180 or less, even as the plane's cost goes up and its performance goes down. Aircraft sales to South Korea and India could help Boeing and/or Lockheed Martin stretch production runs for their current generation fighter planes. And the controversial arms package for Taiwan will be a boon to U.S. ship and missile makers. (Source: William d. Hartung, Dissidentnews, May 19, 2007)