WASHINGTON, June 17: Smitten by the allure of China's markets and potential might, the Clinton administration is ignoring or forsaking meaningful ties with more worthy democratic allies in Asia like India and may be putting off Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines, key American lawmakers and analysts are saying.As President Clinton gears up for his nine-day visit to the Communist dictatorship starting June 25, the quiet murmur of criticism is turning into a torrent as experts are now beginning to question, and in some cases mock, the extent to which Clinton and his mandarins are besotted by China. The US legislature is boiling with debate over Clinton's China policy and commentators in the media and elsewhere are increasingly starting to challenge the ardour with which the White House is wooing Beijing, warts and all. Many lawmakers are starting to see some justification in India's nuclear tests in the context of China's aggressive proliferation designs and questioning the very rationale of theWashington cosying up to China at the expense of New Delhi.The most trenchant and sustained criticism of US foreign policy vis-a-vis China and India came from Florida Senator Connie Mack, who ripped apart the Clinton White House's duplicitous ways on the Senate floor on Tuesday."American foreign policy should promote freedom, democracy, respect for human dignity, and rule of law. It is hard for me to imagine that the President would reward inappropriate actions by the Chinese Communist party leaders while simultaneously sanctioning democratic leaders of India," Mack said in a speech devoted almost entirely to the US-India-China triangulate.The Florida lawmaker pointed out that unlike China, India was not a proliferator and 90 per cent of Beijing's weapons sales went to countries bordering India. China may be too preoccupied today to directly threaten India, but they need only employ Pakistan as a surrogate belligerent to jeopardise India's security, he added."In spite of posing a potential threatto the United States and being among the world's worst human rights violators, China gets the perks of enormously favourable trade and investment flows and top level diplomatic treatment including presidential visits, while India gets sanctioned. This makes no sense. It is strange - and it's just wrong," Mack said.Like Mack, New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone also argued elsewhere that the growing military and nuclear relationship between Pakistan and China pushed India to conduct nuclear tests. Questioning the Clinton administration investing Beijing with a role in resolving disputes between India and Pakistan, Pallone said the move makes no sense, given their role in Pakistan's nuclear development.But the administration seemed to be in no mood to back off. In spite of being embarrassed by daily media revelations about China's non-stop proliferation activities, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright defended Beijing's record at a hearing on the Hill on Tuesday, saying China had systematically comewithin the international regimes that limit any country's ability to sell or transfer weapons."They have improved; and I think the record would show that," Albright told several doubtful Senators of the Appropriations Committee.But analysts say the record actually shows otherwise.Most recent revelations indicate that China last month discussed the sale of telemetry equipment to Iran, which is building two medium-range missiles. The equipment is used in missile testing. US intelligence reports also say Chinese missile technicians are working in Libya to help develop Tripoli's ballistic missile programme, the Washington Times reported recently. Beijing was also shipping sophisticated equipment to Pakistan's A Q Khan Research Laboratory the same week as Islamabad's nuclear test.But the revelations have largely left the administration cold at home as it warms up to China. Much to the dismay of many observers, Clinton has even agreed to be to be received at Beijing's Tiananmen Square - site ofthe bloody student massacre - defending his hosts' right to venue and protocol.China's behaviour against students on Tiananmen Square, resistance to freedom and democratic reforms, an abysmal human rights record, and dangerous and irresponsible proliferation activities deserve America's scorn more than India's legal actions taken in defence of its own national interests, Senator Mack said.Some of that scorn came on late night talk shows. "They are going to roll out the red carpet on Tiananmen Square. No, not to welcome Clinton. but to hide the blood stains," comedian Jay Leno gibed on Tuesday night.Recent reports have also spoken of 13 of China's long range nuclear missiles being pointed at the United States, a revelation that has not been denied by the Clinton administration but which has been downplayed. Expectedly, the US has dozens more missiles pointed at China. Analysts say among the items on the Clinton agenda is to secure an agreement during his visit leading to disengagement by both sideson this score.
