Global Security Newswire

Chinese defense analysts have said the United States' commitment to provide Taiwan with Patriot missile batteries and other weapons is part of Washington's strategy to surround China with missile defense systems, Asian News International reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 2).

"China is in a crescent-shaped ring of encirclement," according to Chinese air force Col. Dai Xu. "The ring begins in Japan, stretches through nations in the South China Sea to India, and ends in Afghanistan. Washington's deployment of antimissile systems around China's periphery forms a crescent-shaped encirclement.

Along with Taiwan, the United States has also promoted missile defense cooperation with nations such as Japan and South Korea (see GSN, Feb. 18).

"The U.S. antimissile system in China's neighborhood is a replica of its strategy in Eastern Europe against Russia. The Obama administration began to plan for such a system around China after its project in Eastern Europe got suspended," asserted Ni Lexiong, a military expert at the Shanghai Institute of Political Science and Law (see GSN, Feb. 22).

Washington's strategy to circle China extends to the planned privision of Patriot Advanced Capability 3 systems to India and other nearby states, according to Guangdong University expert Tang Xiaosong.

China is paying attention to this issue as it has concluded that its national security would be significantly impacted if New Delhi were to join a U.S. worldwide missile defense regime, according to ANI.

Former Chinese Ambassador to India Pei Yuanying expressed doubts regarding India's participation in such a program. "New Delhi needs to develop relations with the U.S., but it wants to be an independent international power on the international area," he said (Asian News International/OneIndia.com, Feb. 22).