China,India key topics of discussion at US-Aus talks

Rudd,Defence Minister Stephen Smith,US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defence Robert Gates met here today for the strategic discussions with focus on the US Force Posture Review,which will examine the American military presence in the Asia-Pacific,and the war in Afghanistan,among other issues.

According to AAP report,Rudd was not drawn on if Australia and America were preparing for emerging global power China to potentially become a future military threat.

“We’re not in the business of naming threats,” he was quoted as saying.

“What we’ve done over many decades…is to make sure that the (Australian-US) alliance is relevant to contemporary circumstances,” he said.

Rudd admitted China had been on the meeting’s agenda.

“Yes,we do have the rise of China,we do have of course burgeoning military expenditures in many other countries in the region,” he said.

“It’s entirely right that the Americans,ourselves and others talk about how these rising powers,including India,contribute to a regional and global rules-based order.

“This is not specifically targeted at the PRC (People’s Republic of China),it’s targeted at the region as a whole,” he said.