Casey Institute Symposium Shows Critical Need For Renewed U.S. Vigilance Toward China, Ties With Asian Allies

(Washington, D.C.): Against the
backdrop of an imminent congressional
debate over President Clinton’s proposal
to renew China’s Most Favored Nation
(MFN) status for another year and
increasing concern about U.S. national
and economic security interests in East
Asia (notably, the 1 July Chinese
takeover of Hong Kong), the William J.
Casey Institute of the Center for
Security Policy convened an important
Symposium yesterday to discuss “The
Strategic and Economic Outlook for the
Asia/Pacific Region” at the ANA
hotel in Washington, D.C.

The lead discussant for the first
session concerning the nature of and
prospects for the U.S.-China relationship
was Richard Bernstein,
a veteran correspondent and co-author of
the critically acclaimed new book, The
Coming Conflict with China. Drawing
on his experience as bureau chief in Hong
Kong and Beijing for Time
Magazine, Mr. Bernstein rejected
contentions that China will only regard
the United States as an adversary if the
United States construes it as such. He
cited numerous statements and writings by
the Chinese leadership that make clear
its longstanding perception that the
United States must inevitably be a threat
to China and its ambitions.

Of the more than 120 participants in
the Casey Institute’s half-day symposium,
none was more insistent that a national
debate be held about the strategic
implications of China’s policies than the
lead discussant for the second session —
Senator Jon
Kyl (R-AZ). Senator Kyl,
one of the most influential members of
the Senate on national security and
foreign policy matters and the 1994
recipient of the Center’s “Keeper of
the Flame” award, argued forcefully
for the United States to “think
strategically,” as the Chinese
and other totalitarian regimes tend to
do. He detailed a number of the actions
that China is taking that pose a growing
threat to U.S. national security and
economic interests (e.g., the
modernization of its strategic and
conventional forces, technology theft,
proliferation, gun-smuggling, etc.)

The third session was led by Ambassador
James R.
Lilley, former Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International
Security Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to
the People’s Republic of China and to
South Korea. Amb. Lilley provided a
sweeping tour d’horizon,
highlighting the multifaceted and
increasingly portentous character of
developments throughout Asia. He
expressed particular concern about the
implications of perceptions of American
weakness, ambivalence or retreat from the
region.

A noteworthy contribution to the
discussion was made by Roger W.
Robinson, Jr., a former Vice
President at Chase Manhattan Bank and
Senior Director for International
Economic Affairs at the Reagan National
Security Council. Mr. Robinson, who holds
the Institute’s William J. Casey Chair,
warned against Chinese infiltration and
abuse of international financial markets.
He observed that Chinese entities have
issued some $6.7 billion in
dollar-denominated bonds in recent years
— at least some of the proceeds of which
are winding up in the coffers of the
People’s Liberation Army and Chinese
security services. Mr. Robinson argued
for a non-disruptive, security-minded
screening mechanism for prospective bond
issuers and further investigation of
other instances of strategic economic
penetration.

Following the symposium’s morning
session, the Center hosted an elegant
reception and luncheon at which Senator
Thad Cochran
(R-MS) reported on his recent
fact-finding mission in the Asia/Pacific
region and his work on related subjects
in the Senate. Of particular interest are
the results of hearings he has been
holding as chairman of the Government
Affairs Subcommittee on International
Security, Proliferation and Federal
Services concerning the increasing threat
posed to U.S. security proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction involving
China and its clients. (The next such
hearing will occur tomorrow, examining
the Clinton Administration’s reckless
policy of permitting the PRC to acquire
at least 46 powerful supercomputers, some
of which are now being used by China’s
nuclear and other military programs.)

In the course of his remarks, Senator
Cochran offered two important policy
prescriptions: First, the U.S. must
promptly complete development and
deployment of effective,
sea-based missile defenses to
protect the United States and its forces
and allies in Asia and elsewhere. Second,
the United States must urgently seek to
reconstitute a viable national
and multilateral export control regime
and bring real pressure to bear on
governments like China that are aiding
rogue states in their bids to procure
weapons of mass destruction and
associated delivery systems.

The Casey Institute will shortly
release a summary of the symposium. To
request a copy or for additional
information about this event or the work
of the Institute, please contact the
Center by telephone at (202) 835-9077, by
fax at (202) 835-9066 or via e-mail at
[email protected].

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