Fw: Bush Visits China: Urge Engagement, Not Confrontation - FCNL

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie" <kathyguthrie@fcnl.org>
To: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 5:27 PM
Subject: Bush Visits China: Urge Engagement, Not Confrontation - FCNL

As the President visits China, write a letter to your local paper and
let your neighbors know: War with China is Not the Answer, now, or in
the future. President Bush will bring a mixed message to China when
he arrives in Beijing this weekend. On the one hand, the Bush
administration is eager to maintain economic relations with China that
include commercial relations and Chinese investment in U.S. treasury
notes. On the other hand, the U.S. is intensifying its military
encirclement of China. U.S. military bases in 10 countries and
territories are within striking distance of China or the energy
reserves and sea lanes on which China depends. The U.S. conducts joint
military exercises with 11 of China's neighbors and sells large
advanced weapons packages to seven countries in the region.

China has responded to the U.S. presence in the region with a
military build up of its own. If current trends continue, the U.S.
and China will fuel an intensified regional arms race and the
region will be forced to confront the possibility of an outbreak of
actual fighting that could involve Japan and Taiwan. At the center of
the potential conflict between the U.S. and China is competition
over oil.

TAKE ACTION NOW

As news media around the country focus on the president's trip, take
the opportunity to write to your local paper and urge the
administration to take steps now to prevent a future war with China.
Enter your zipcode at this link to see a sample letter to the editor
and some of your local media outlets.
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8255421&type=ME
More help on writing letters to the editor is available here:
http://www.fcnl.org/getin/resources/letters_editor.htm

BACKGROUND

Are the U.S. and China heading for war? Michael Klare, in "Revving
up the China Threat" in The Nation, outlined some of the ways the U.S.
seems to be preparing for war with China. Read this article
here:
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1593&issue_id=103

One signal of the potential for military conflict is U.S. suspicion of
China's military expansion - and visa versa. During a June trip
to Singapore, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld reportedly commented that
"Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder: why this growing
investment [in their military?] Why these continuing large and
expanding arms purchases?"

While China's military expenditures are indeed troubling, especially
to its neighbors, China's military planners are not functioning in a
vacuum. U.S. military bases in Japan, South Korea, Guam, Diego
Garcia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Kyrgyzstan are
within striking distance of China or the oil and gas reserves and sea
lanes on which China depends. The U.S. conducts joint military
exercises with 11 of China's neighbors, and sells advanced weapons to
six of these countries - plus Taiwan, which China views as a renegade
province.

The U.S. has entered an agreement to share space and civilian nuclear
technology with India. iIntent on pushing forward with its missile
shield programs, the U.S. has rebuffed Chinese efforts to guarantee the
peaceful use of space and has refused to re-establish the ad hoc
committee on The Prevention of the Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS).

China is also worried about the growing closeness between the U.S. and
Japan. The U.S. has supported Japan's bid for a permanent seat on
the U.N. Security Council, and has been encouraging Japan to play a
greater military role. In February, the U.S. and Japan issued a joint
statement that mentioned both countries' interest in resolving the
Taiwan Strait issue peacefully. Although an innocuous statement in
content, it clearly drew a line, with China on one side, and the U.S.
and Japan on the other.

These are just a few examples of a considerably longer list detailed in
"Steps Needed Now to Reduce Threat of Future War," which will be
appearing in the November/December issue of The Washington
Newsletter. See a preview here:
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1618&issue_id=103

Even Pentagon officials acknowledge that military containment of China
is impossible, according to an article in the November 17th Wall Street
Journal. And yet the U.S. military buildup in the region continues.
At the center of the potential military conflict with China is expected
competition over oil.

Rather than preparing for war, the administration should embrace
measures now to avoid conflict later. For example, the administration
should signal its early support of S. 1117, the U.S.-China Cultural
Engagement Act, a bill that would invest in increasing U.S.
understanding and cooperation with China through language and cultural
education, increases foreign service personnel in China, and promote
export opportunities in China (for more information:
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1489&issue_id=103
). Congress and the administration should also endorse the
establishment of a U.S.-China Energy Working Group that would identify
areas for energy collaboration between the two countries as well as
areas for potential energy conflict, as called for by the
congressionally established U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission. (For more information, see the commission's 2005 Report
at its web site, http://www.uscc.gov; this year's report is a mixture
of tension increasing and tension reducing measures.)

As President Bush travels through Asia, FCNL constituents have an
opportunity to write a letter to the editor and inform their
neighbors: War with China is Not the Answer, now, or in the
future.

CONGRESSIONAL RECESS: Members of Congress will be home for the
Thanksgiving recess next week. This recess is an excellent
opportunity to get in touch with their local offices and raise issues
of concern to you and to FCNL.
_______________________________________

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