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China's Military Modernization: Can the U.S. Influence the Outcome?
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# : |
11634 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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Date : |
9 / 1986 |
4,903 Words |
| Author
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Thomas W. Robinson
Thomas W. Robinson teaches Asian, Soviet, and national
security studies at Georgetown University and is professor of
Asian studies at the Foreign Service Institute, Department of
State. |
If the United States continues to facilitate the modernization of China's military, it should also assume responsibility for the regional and global implications of such a policy. Since China is bound to play an increasingly important role in Asia, Washington should try to use what influence it has over Beijing to encourage China to pursue goals that parallel America 's own interests in the area.
The question of what, if any, role the United States can and should play in modernizing China's military has been before American policymakers at least since 1979. At every stage in China's approach to the United States on this matter, and at every commensurate stage in the development of U.S.-China relations, Washington has reasoned with itself that, on balance, it was probably useful to the American interest to go the next step with Beijing.
The reasons appear to have been: (1) that the military sales/technology transfer policy instrument was too potent to eschew in influencing for the better the course of Sino-American relations, (2) that keeping China on the American side of the great divide with the South Union was worth some risks in later years, were a more powerful China to adopt policies otherwise inimical to the United States, and (3) that in any case the Chinese had yet to demonstrate what they really desired from the United States in terms of military hardware, assembly lines, and associated technologies. A prudent policy was therefore to proceed with each next step and judge incrementally what subsequently should be done.
By 1984, with a number of high-level military missions and visits having taken place, and with the door
... (1991 of 30043 Characters)
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