oneworldtalk

China not the enemy, experts say

BRENDAN NICHOLSON
DEFENCE
September 22, 2009

AUSTRALIA has wrongly identified China as a security threat when it should be looking for ways to help the emerging giant develop, says a senior Chinese academic.

Zhang Chun, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, is one of several regional experts detailing their country's reactions to the defence white paper for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

China, Indonesia, India, the US, Singapore and other regional countries have had months to consider the paper's implications and the institute's program director, Rod Lyon, said it was likely to offend some, please some and puzzle others.

Dr Zhang said Australia's defence establishment had used the white paper to justify increased defence spending by emphasising threats such as terrorism, power transition, state fragility, the global financial crisis and climate change.

''Thus, the troubled times ask for a stronger military force and a leading role for Australia at both regional and global levels,'' Dr Zhang said. ''In other words, they ask for rebuilding of Australian middle power leadership.''

Dr Zhang described the concerns about China and call for more powerful weapons as ''old wine in new bottles''.

Dr Zhang said the root of the current crises was a lack of development but Australia was treating this as a security issue. ''That the rise of China is viewed as a source of threat is the best example of this approach,'' he said.

Rizal Sukma, the executive director at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta said the latest white paper viewed Indonesia in a much more positive light than earlier versions and noted its view that Indonesia would continue to evolve as a stable democratic state with improved social cohesion and be a strong partner for Australia.

Mr Rizal said that since Mr Rudd's election, Indonesia had been determined to transform its relations with Australia into an enduring partnership.

But Indonesia's defence minister, Juwono Sudarsono, felt the paper exaggerated the China factor. ''If you look at China's internal problems,'' he said, ''I wouldn't worry too much about their so-called military rise.''

Mr Rizal said some Indonesians still wondered why Australia needed new submarines. But he said Australia, Indonesia and South Korea should work together on a regional security plan that would prevent any power from dominating others.

Teruhiko Fukushima, a professor of oceanic studies at the National Defence Academy in Tokyo, said the document seemed to tell Japan that it might feel it has less protection from the US President, Barack Obama, than from his predecessor, George Bush, but it should not be panicked into an arms race.