Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, on Tuesday reiterated concerns about the rapid expansion in China’s military and a lack of transparency in its defence budget.
“It is interesting that other countries wonder why they are increasing their defence effort at the pace they are and yet not acknowledging it. That is as interesting as the fact that it is increasing at the pace it is.”
Mr Rumsfeld was speaking en route to Beijing aboard the National Airborne Operations Centre, a highly secure Boeing 747 aircraft that acts as the Pentagon in the sky in the case of a nuclear or other catastrophic attack on the US.
See also: Rumsfeld takes a softer line in Beijing by Thom Shanker, from The International Herald Tribune.
