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Is China building up its military?

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    Dr. Mike Pillsbury on China’s defenses, economy and relationship with Iran

  • Duration 5:22
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To turn to doctor Michaels Pillsbury China expert consultant to the Department of Defense.

-- somebody we turn to and we want to find out what's going on nmap from -- I don't know if you were able to hear Jennifer Griffin -- is a Fox News.

Correspondent she's with secretary Panetta she's in New Delhi now we are talking about.

China's increased aggressiveness or or it looks like China is looking at its neighbors in the region with.

With a little bit of a swagger and macho what do what do you make -- China's new.

Some sort of newfound aggressiveness.

And military.

Increases in that part of the world Michael.

Well I think our strategy right now KT is to try to minimize.

Provocation of China and not to amplified the nationalistic comments that have been coming out of Beijing.

You know the Chinese defense budget as a percentage of what they could do is very low.

So would be a disaster for us that they would double or triple their defense spending.

And get up to the Soviet union's levels of the back in the 1980s.

So I think there's an effort by secretary Panetta.

You seated in some recent speeches.

-- -- to characterize the pivot to Asia and is in no way aimed at China that it's a rebalancing toward the region as a whole.

So I think Jennifer Griffin is.

Accentuating won one aspect of the problem.

But the overall American strategy so far has been working -- have shown no great surge in their defense spending you know there.

Production of military weapons so far the idea reassuring them is working.

-- -- -- Mentioned that the Chinese have just received my -- -- out of Iran.

While secretary Panetta has been in the region and the Chinese premier today said that they are very much against the development of have nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

Have quieted criticism potentially of present on the -- out of Iran and their quest for nuclear.

Power and maybe nuclear weapons and you make anything of this is there anything about lion that they're Chinese premier setters such -- Why not say -- what do you think.

Well -- -- been somewhat helpful.

-- on -- Iran in nuclear proliferation issue.

To us over the last ten years -- basics position is that there as long as you -- signed the nonproliferation treaty.

Iran should abide by the treaty.

That's helpful they haven't gone all the way with us on really intrusive sanctions.

But this kind of statement is not particularly new but it's not on helpful.

What are the Chinese academy we've been reading stories lately about the Chinese economy is slowing down do you find any evidence of that back to prosper.

Well it's slowing down a little bit as you know as we've discussed before -- there's a China collapsed theory.

Right who are these if these are the alarmist who say that the whole place is gonna collapse and therefore democracy will.

-- come out of a kind of internal civil war.

I don't think that's correct but that the economy is slowing down the Chinese own statistics.

And owner announcements are talking now about how much of a stimulus package they should offer themselves and -- the rumors now coming out to -- economists.

Point two.

There's they'd like to have a stimulus package about half the size of the one that they applied back in 2008.

And 2009.

If that that's true and if that succeeds.

And China could return to its growth rate of eight or 9%.

Over the next two or three years so I'm not a collapse -- person as you know bit.

This is that this is a great time for them to be dancing in the streets and and and acting as though China's on the war on the road to collapse which is not correct.

-- we have time -- one quick question in the last couple weeks secretary Panetta and others have come out and said.

We're gonna cyber war cyber weapons are the weapons of the future they talked about a cyber.

Cyber warfare Pearl Harbor and secretary Panetta said that China is the main perpetrators.

Of cyber warfare capabilities.

What do you think.

Well the Chinese -- this and they point out that just because attacks come from within China doesn't mean that the Chinese government's directing them.

I myself think the Chinese Government probably is guilty.

Of cyber warfare and they and they justify this by same -- you Americans did when first and you Americans are doing it too.

So this this is a matter that's.

His pending further discussion between the two capitals I think it's actually quite dangerous because -- a disaster could happen -- cyber attacks are used.

We didn't see -- happen by the way there's not been at that time -- successful negotiation of these.

Philippines standoff.

Both sides are withdrawing their.

Units -- dealerships.

And the mild cyber attacks that went on.

In Manila and a few inside China did not escalate.

Sort of almost cyber warfare is not that it -- low level attacks or efforts to conduct espionage.

But that there's a really major exchange and -- of planes crash airliners go down.

Financial markets collapse that's -- were the most about is an escalation of cyber.

Incidents into a major war -- be a disaster.

-- I sure would be a disaster in the United States being probably the most vulnerable country on the planet for that thank you so much for joining us doctor Michael Pillsbury.

Thank you -- thank you well.

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