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Article: United States and China: From Foes to Friends?
- Article from:
- Southeast Asian Affairs
- Article date:
- January 1, 2002
CopyrightCopyright Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 2002. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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President Bush, on assumption of office, initiated his policy towards China by describing it as a "strategic competitor". This was not mere posturing and its seriousness was evident in an accompanying military strategy that identified the Pacific as the most likely theatre of major U.S. military operations, and China as a likely adversary. The strategy also anticipated that U.S. allies could limit access to overseas bases due to the proliferation of missiles and other WMD. It, therefore, placed emphasis on the development of long-range bombers and unmanned aircraft, and less on short-range fighters.face=+Superscript; 21face=-Superscript;
The focus on Asia by the new Bush administration ...