Gates seeks to ease doubts on Asia focus: official

ABOARD A US AIR FORCE JET OVER THE PACIFIC (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates headed Friday to Singapore seeking to ease doubts over US leadership in a region under the shadow of a Chinese military build-up.

A senior US defence official said Gates would use a speech Saturday at an international security conference to assert that the United States intends to remain an influence in Asia.

The official, who briefed reporters travelling with Gates on condition of anonymity, said Washington wanted to refute suggestions it has been distracted by Iraq and Afghanistan to the detriment of the Asia-Pacific region.

"This has been a low running theme among many of the folks in the region, that somehow we have lost the bubble or lost our focus on Asia particularly in the last year, year and a half when our demands in Iraq and Afghanistan have increased," he said.

"When in fact, if anything, we have found better ways to do our Asia obligations and responsibilities and execute against those in a much more comprehensive and complete way," he added.

Still, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Asian concerns about a shifting US military posture in Asia have put Gates on the defensive on his first trip to East Asia since assuming office six months ago.

His visit was preceded by the release of the Pentagon's annual report on Chinese military power detailing Beijing's drive to acquire advanced warships, aircraft and missiles that would allow it to project power far beyond Taiwan.

During a stopover in Honolulu, Gates said there was no question China is building up significant military capabilities, and he urged Beijing to explain its intentions.

"One of the central themes of everyone who is talking to the Chinese is more transparency," Gates said. "Tell us more about where you're headed, what are your intentions."

"That's the real issue. The fact that they are building capacity is just a fact. What they plan or do not plan to do with it is what's of interest," he added.

But Gates did not plan to press the issue in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual regional gathering of senior officials and experts, the US defence official said.

"We think we have a much more important message, and that message is: irrespective of the China military power report, and the situation with China, we are engaged throughout Asia on a very broad spectrum of activities.

"And we want to highlight that in part to counter the suggestion that we somehow have been neglecting Asia over the last two or three years."

China will be represented at the meeting by a high powered delegation under Lieutenant General Zhang Qinsheng, director of military intelligence for the People's Liberation Army and the highest ranking Chinese military officer ever to attend the conference.

US military and defence officials have warned that unless China is more forthcoming on its intentions, the United States and other countries in the region will have no choice but to plan for worst-case scenarios.

Admiral Timothy Keating, the top US commander in the Pacific, said he told senior Chinese officials during a recent visit that better understanding was needed to avoid miscalculation.

The senior official travelling with Gates said that Washington particularly wants discussions with China on its ballistic missile programs.

These include its strategic nuclear forces as well as the anti-satellite capability it demonstrated in January when it destroyed an orbiting weather satellite with a ballistic missile.

"Let's just say the dialogue we've had with them on the anti-satellite test has been pretty small beer," the official said. "We really have not received from them any real reasonable and logical explanation of what has transpired."

The official said there also is a "huge gulf in understanding" of China's military budgets.

The Pentagon report estimated China's annual military spending at 85 to 120 billion dollars, which Beijing branded an exaggeration aimed at portraying it as a threat.

Officially, Beijing acknowledges a 45 billion dollar budget this year, up nearly 18 percent on the year before.