Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, speaking over the weekend in Singapore, made it plain the United States was unhappy with China's continued military buildup, including its missile capabilities to hit targets in the region and beyond.

He also pointedly tweaked Beijing over its lack of political freedom and hindrances on free speech, all part of the human-rights shtick expounded by previous administrations but central to President Bush's foreign policy as he presses for the spread of democracy around the world.

That push, Bush said in his Inaugural Address, would include U.S. allies that were found lacking in democracy or backsliding in implementing necessary reforms to bring it about.

"With a system that encouraged enterprise and free expression, China would appear more a welcome partner and provide greater economic opportunities to the Chinese people," Rumsfeld said Saturday at a regional meeting of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"China has important decisions to make about its goals and its future. Ultimately, China will need to embrace some form of a more open and representative government if it is to fully achieve the political and economic benefits to which its people aspire."

China was estimated to have spent more than $67 billion in 2004 on its military and modernization drive. That's about 4.3 percent of its gross domestic product, putting it third behind the United States and Russia.

The Rand Institute, a California-based think tank, said in a report in May the figure could be as much as $78 billion.

"Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder: Why this growing investment?" Rumsfeld asked. "Why these continuing large and expanding arms purchases? Why these continuing robust deployments?"

John Tkacik, a former U.S. diplomat and China expert at the Heritage Foundation, believes an important prompt in the administration's stronger stand on China was its implementation earlier this year of an anti-succession law regarding Taiwan.

"The U.S. government repeatedly asked China not to go through with this anti-succession law, and basically said if China passes it we would have to re-examine how we view China's intentions," he said.

"The defense secretary's remarks are significant because they indicate that the Defense Department is no longer looking at China's modernization with equanimity. They now view the capabilities as alarming and they are going to have to plan for it."

China regards Taiwan, whose government was founded by nationalist refugees from Mao's revolution, as a renegade province. The United States helps arm Taiwan and makes clear it would not stand idly by if it were invaded.

The Chinese anti-secession law says in essence Beijing can use whatever military force it wants against Taiwan if Beijing believes it is trying to secede. But it does not spell out the tripwires for cross-strait military action.

Concerned over China's steady military buildup and the prospect of potential conflict, Bush earlier this year was able to stall -- at least temporarily -- Britain, France and several other countries from selling advanced weaponry to China. European nations stopped selling Beijing arms in 1989 in retaliation for the Tiananmen Square massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators.

Sources indicated Rumsfeld was speaking for the administration in Singapore.

"I don't want to characterize them (Rumsfeld's words) in any way," said Frederick Jones, spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House. "His words spoke for themselves. We have some concerns, and he spoke of the concerns."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "He speaks for the administration as secretary of defense."

U.S.-Chinese relations came under immediate strain during Bush's first term when a U.S. military aircraft crossed into Chinese airspace and was forced to land after an in-air collision with a Chinese fighter jet. Negotiations brought about the release of the crew.

China, despite the friction, has joined the United States in the six-party talks to pressure North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons project. But China is opposed to economic sanctions against Pyongyang, and so far the North Koreans have not returned to the negotiating table.

Bush, in his repeated speeches, notes there are cultural and historic differences that color individual democracies. Rumsfeld repeated the theme when talking about democratization of China.

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