Editorials
Thursday, March 13, 1997

China's arms buildup
is cause for concern

THE visit of Chinese naval vessels to Pearl Harbor puts a rosy glow on relations between Washington and Beijing, but it's hardly strong enough to counter the reports that China had a slush fund to influence U.S. elections or the many criticisms of Chinese human rights abuses and trade pact violations. More to the point, the visit doesn't alter the fact of growing U.S. concern over Sino-Russian military cooperation, specifically Chinese purchases of Russian weaponry.

The acquisition of two Russian missile-carrying destroyers is a case in point. The missiles are described in a report in the Far Eastern Economic Review as "designed to attack the most important vessels" in the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The magazine quotes a senior Pentagon official as saying, "We're worried about indications from China's senior military elite as to the potential purposes of such acquisitions."

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, China has been buying Russian arms -- tanks, fighter planes, submarines and ballistic missile technology -- at bargain prices. The U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency says Russia supplied 97 percent of China's $1.75 billion arms purchases in 1992-94.

The Chinese military is now stressing modernization in its own weapons technology, but access to the Russian arsenal provides a quick way to improve while China catches up.

Some analysts think that the arms buildup is related to Taiwan. The Chinese have concluded that if they go to war with Taiwan they probably will have to contend with the U.S. Navy. The dispatch of two aircraft carriers to Taiwan last year when China was threatening the island might not be repeated if China had the capacity to inflict damage on U.S. warships.

A renewal of the Sino-Soviet alliance of Stalin's time is not likely, but the two countries have clearly drawn closer. The communique for Russian President Boris Yeltsin's visit to Beijing last April referred to their "strategic partnership." Partnership against whom? Perhaps the United States.

Korea's labor law

PRESIDENT Kim Young-sam has signed into law a measure replacing legislation that sparked a wave of strikes after it was rammed through last December. The new law weakens several provisions, including one that made layoffs easier. It also allows more than one union organization, offering legitimacy to a militant labor confederation. The unions are dissatisfied with the changes and are threatening to strike again. But this time the expectation is that the threats will fizzle out.

This should be a matter of concern for the United States because a weakened South Korean leader could complicate the always-tricky conduct of relations with Communist North Korea. The North's enigmatic Kim Jong-il is difficult enough to deal with without a demoralized president in Seoul.

Freeing felons

FLORIDIANS were horrified several years ago upon learning of the impending release from prison of a child killer who had taken advantage of early-release credits awarded to relieve prison overcrowding. Florida legislators quickly enacted a law making murderers and attempted murderers ineligible for the credits, but they were too late in shutting the jailhouse door.

State legislators around the country should be cognizant of what happened in Florida before adopting policies to free felons, and should take care in crafting their laws to avoid this pitfall. A better solution would be to create enough prison space.



Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership

Rupert E. Phillips, CEO


John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher


David Shapiro, Managing Editor


Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor


Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors


A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor



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