US Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ comments are likely to add to tensions over political and economic quarrels between the two superpowers just days before Chinese President Hu Jintao visits the United States.
President Barack Obama hosts Hu for a state visit on Jan. 19. US officials say Obama will raise geopolitical problems such as Iran and North Korea as well as trade issues that bedevil ties between the world’s two biggest economies.
Gates, in Japan after a visit to China earlier this week, said in a speech that advances by China’s military in cyber and anti-satellite warfare technology could challenge the ability of US forces to operate in the Pacific.
While saying he did not see China as an “inevitable strategic adversary,” Gates stressed the importance of US military ties with Japan, where about 49,000 US military personnel are stationed.
Without the forward presence of US troops in Japan, China “might behave more assertively toward its neighbors,” he said.
Gates cited a territorial dispute between Japan and China that flared last year, calling it an example of why the US alliance with Japan was so important.
The warning came days after China held its first test flight of a stealth fighter jet while Gates was in Beijing on a trip aimed at easing strained military ties.
China also plans to develop aircraft carriers, anti-satellite missiles and other advanced systems which have alarmed the region and the United States, the dominant military power in the Pacific.
“Questions about (China’s) intentions and opaque military modernization program have been a source of concern to its neighbors,” Gates told university students in Tokyo.
“Questions about China’s growing role in the region manifest themselves in territorial disputes, most recently in the incident in September near the Senkaku Islands,” Gates said, using the Japanese name for them.
In China they are called the Diaoyu islands.
Gates said the United States had no doubt Hu was in control of China’s military after the test flight of the stealth fighter jet had apparently caught China’s civilian leaders unaware.
He said the incident was a worry, highlighting the importance of US-China dialogue on military issues with both civilian and military officials.
While China’s unveiling of the stealth fighter this week may have grabbed headlines, foreign powers are more worried about a growing naval build-up, especially as China has disputes over maritime boundaries with many of its neighbors.
