China fears drive big US arms projects

U.S. fears of a rising China are spurring billions of dollars worth of weapons projects, from nuclear-fueled attack submarines to fighter jets to destroyers.

Even as President George W. Bush prepares to welcome President Hu Jintao to the White House on Thursday with full military honors, Washington is factoring in potential conflicts over such sore spots as Taiwan, competition for scarce resources and any threat to its predominance in Asia.

"Of the major and emerging powers, China has the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that could over time offset traditional U.S. military advantages absent U.S. counter strategies," the U.S. Defense Department said in a long-term strategy review released in February.

The focus of the U.S. approach to China remains to prod it into playing a constructive regional role and to be a partner on security challenges from terrorism to curbing the spread of weapons, narcotics and piracy.

But in its long-range blueprint, the Pentagon laid out plans for "prudent hedges against the possibility that cooperative approaches by themselves may fail to preclude future conflict" with powers such as China.

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