China says its military no threat to peace in Asia

The strength of China's armed forces is 20 years behind the U.S. and
although the military is developing new capabilities, it is not a threat to
peace in Asia, the Chinese defense minister said Sunday.
China's military won't be used aggressively against its neighbors, General
Liang Guanglie said at an Asian security conference in Singapore.
"I know many people tend to believe that with the growth of China's economy,
China will become a military threat," Liang said. "China will never seek
hegemony or military expansion."
"This is a solemn pledge made by the Chinese government to the international
community," he said.
Liang met Friday with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Singapore amid
increasing high-level contacts between the militaries of the two countries.
Gates told Liang that he believes the military-to-military relationship is
"on a positive trajectory" after a series of setbacks in recent years.
Liang is the highest-ranking Chinese military official to attend the IISS
Shangri-La Dialogue, now in its 10th year. General Chen Bingde, China's
chief of general staff, met with top U.S. military officials last month in
Washington.
"China and the U.S. have made great progress in bilateral relations," Liang
said. "All of us are very optimistic about the future of bilateral and
military-to-military relations."
Liang sought to downplay recent increased Chinese military spending,
insisting the nation's capabilities remain far behind those of developed
countries.
"Our defense force is more modern and developed. However, there still exists
a big gap," he said. "There's a generational gap."
China is working privately with North Korean officials to try to revive
stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks that involve the two Koreas,
Japan, China, Russia and the U.S., Liang said.
"The work we have done with North Korea is much more than what the outside
world may expect," he said. "We are trying to persuade them not to take
risks."
Tensions between the two Koreas have jumped since two deadly attacks blamed
on North Korea last year. The North has denied involvement in the sinking of
a warship in March 2010 that killed 46 South Korean sailors and argued that
a November artillery barrage that killed four people was provoked by South
Korean firing drills.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said Saturday that any future
attacks by North Korea would be met by a very strong response, and that
Pyongyang is becoming increasingly bold in its provocations.
"The situation is moving toward relaxation, but the foundation remains
fragile," Liang said. "We need to cool things down."
Last week, Google alleged that computer hackers in China had compromised the
personal Gmail accounts of several hundred people, including U.S. government
officials, military personnel and political activists.
Liang said China is paying close attention to the cyber attack problem.
"In China, we also suffer quite a wide range of frequent cyber attacks and
it is hard to attribute the real source of the attacks," he said. "It's
important for everyone to follow laws in terms of cyber security, and they
should also apply to corporations."