[PEN-L:6705] Re: Embassy Attack Fallout

[Ajit Sinha <sinha@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> To China, its policies of the past decades has gradually led to
> the US
> treatment of China as a weak nation with no consequence.  US
> judgment
> that the growing Chinese trade surplus with the US entitles the
> US to
> bully China is deeply resented by China.  The China leadership
> cannot
> afford to allow the US to downgrade its hard earned status as a
> legitimate major power, and cannot afford to appear to the
> Chinese
> people as betraying the interest of the nation, regardless of
> sophisticated logic of realpolitik and economic considerations.
> This undeniable development will tilt in favor of forces within
> China
> that pressure for a change in policy.
_____________________
Henery,
What do you think of the talk about Russia-China-India triangular
counterweight to US led hegemony that is going on around here?
Cheers, ajit sinha
> Envoy Says China Dispute Won't Last
>
>                      By GEORGE GEDDA Associated Press Writer
>
>                      WASHINGTON (AP) -- Holed up in the U.S.
>                      Embassy in China as a virtual prisoner for
> four
>                      days, Ambassador James Sasser nonetheless
>                      believes the flap over the mistaken U.S.
> bombing of
>
>                      the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade is an
> aberration
>                      that the two sides will overcome.
>
>                      ``I think wiser heads will prevail on both
> sides,
> and
>                      both sides will move forward and continue to
> build
> a
>                      partnership,'' Sasser said Monday night on
> CNN's
>                      ``Larry King Live'' program.
>
>                      Sasser said he is encouraged by signs of a
> Chinese
>                      willingness for the first time to permit the
> media
> to
>                      publish U.S. expressions of condolences over
> the
>                      loss of life in Belgrade and the apologies
> of
>                      President Clinton and other senior
> officials.
>
>                      But Chinese President Jiang Zemin has yet to
> accept
>
>                      a telephone call from Clinton, and other
> Chinese
>                      officials are continuing to cast doubt on
> the
>                      American claim that last week's bombing was
> an
>                      accident.
>
>                      In the first direct fallout on the fragile
> U.S.-Chinese
>                      military relationship, Beijing canceled a
> planned
> visit
>                      next week by Gen. Charles Krulak, commandant
> of
>                      the Marine Corps, and ``put on hold''
> virtually all
>
>                      military-to-military cooperation with the
> United
>                      States, U.S. defense officials said today.
>
>                      Defense Secretary William Cohen's planned
> trip to
>                      China in June now appears unlikely,
> officials said,
>
>                      although Cohen said Monday, ``Much will
> depend
>                      upon whether the Chinese government wishes
> to
>                      have me travel there.'' He said he wanted to
>                      strengthen defense ties, ``but that depends
> upon
> the
>                      Chinese government.''
>
>                      China's ambassador to the United States, Li
> Zhao
>                      Xing, said on CNN: ``Some people are saying
> this is
>
>                      a mistake. ... How could they make such an
> error?''
>
>                      He demanded a ``thoroughgoing
> investigation'' into
>                      the incident.
>
>                      The situation improved today, Sasser said.
> ``We are
>
>                      not getting nearly as many rocks thrown at
> us and
>                      the crowds are much smaller,'' he said on
> NBC's
>                      ``Today.''
>
>                      ``I think it is clear that we have to move
> rapidly
> to
>                      give China a clear and cogent explanation''
> how the
>
>                      bombing mistake occurred, Sasser said.
>
>                      Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering,
>                      interviewed immediately after Sasser, was
> asked
>                      when the United States would provide that
>                      explanation.
>
>                      ``Yesterday,'' he replied, referring to
> Defense
>                      Secretary William Cohen's statement Monday.
> ``We
>                      responded with great speed and made clear to
> the
>                      Chinese that this was a tragic mistake,''
> Pickering
>
>                      said. He would not rule out further
> explanations,
>                      adding, ``We are continuing our review.''
>
>                      Sasser, a former Democratic senator from
>                      Tennessee, said he has remained at the
> embassy
>                      because the Chinese police were unable to
> guarantee
>
>                      his safety. He said his wife and son were
> moved to
>                      safety in a hotel.
>
>                      One reason for his optimism, Sasser said,
> was that
>                      the Chinese government, after initially
> condoning
> the
>                      mass demonstrations at the embassy and at
> U.S.
>                      consulates, is now making a strong effort to
> contain
>                      them.
>
>                      There was little doubt, though, that the
> bombing in
>
>                      Belgrade, which killed three Chinese and
> seriously
>                      wounded six, left Sino-American relations at
> a low
>                      ebb.
>
>                      Among the early casualties were high-level
> military
>
>                      ties as well as talks on arms control,
> international
>                      security and human rights. China suspended
>                      contacts in all these areas Monday.
>
>                      Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a candidate for
>                      president, said he would take a tough line
> with
>                      China, asking officials to use their
> security
> forces to
>                      prevent attacks on the U.S. Embassy.
>
>                      ``I would call up the premier of China and
> say,
>                      `Stop it and stop it right now,''' he said.
> ``We
> have
>                      apologized, it's tragic, now it's over.''
>
>                      McCain said he would not threaten China, but
>                      would ``certainly make it clear there are a
> whole
> lot
>                      of issues we need to work together on,''
> such as
>                      trade.
>
>                      Another Republican presidential candidate,
>                      commentator Pat Buchanan, said China's
> response
>                      to the accident was not that of a friend but
> rather
> of
>                      ``an antagonistic and hostile regime
> spoiling for a
>
>                      quarrel.''
>
>                      The incident placed a fresh burden on a
> relationship
>                      already straining under the weight of U.S.
> allegations
>                      of Chinese nuclear spying, illegal campaign
>                      contributions, a widening trade deficit in
> China's
>                      favor and American complaints about China's
>                      human rights performance.
>
>                      Clinton has said his efforts to reach out to
> China
>                      have paid dividends.
>
>
>                      Among other advances, Clinton says U.S. ties
> with
>                      China helped his administration negotiate a
> nuclear
>
>                      freeze with North Korea five years ago and
>                      persuade China to stop selling
> weapons-related
>                      nuclear materials to Pakistan and Iran.
>
>                      While deeply disturbed by the bombing of a
> building
>
>                      erroneously thought to be a Yugoslav
> military
>                      installation, U.S. officials said they were
> displeased
>                      with aspects of the Chinese government's
> response.
>
>                      State Department spokesman James Rubin said
> the
>                      administration was troubled by what he
> described as
>
>                      clear Chinese government sponsorship of the
>                      demonstrations, in which bricks and concrete
> were
>                      heaved at embassy buildings and cars.
>
>                      Rubin also said it was ``extremely
> unfortunate''
> that
>                      China's government-controlled media have
> kept
>                      information from the Chinese people about
> the
>                      expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo
>                      Albanians from Yugoslavia while focusing
> instead
>                      on NATO mishaps that have led to the
> unintentional
>                      killing of civilians.
>
>                      =03AP-NY-05-11-99 0914EDT
>
>                      Copyright =A9 Associated Press. All rights
> reserved.
> This material
>                      may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,
> or
> redistributed.
>