Pentagon chief seeks Asia's help in Afghanistan

By Staff
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SINGAPORE, June 2 (Reuters) US Defense Secretary Robert Gates called on Asian nations today to give more aid to Afghanistan and boost regional cooperation to counter threats from weapons proliferation and terrorism.

The Pentagon chief also sounded a warning that nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea posed as much of a threat to Asia as they did to Europe, and that chaos in Iraq would embolden extremists throughout the world.

''The effect of chaos in either Central or Southwest Asia will not recognise national, continental or regional boundaries,'' he told Asian counterparts at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore.

Gates' message to Asian nations about cooperation and burden sharing was similar in substance to comments delivered to European partners earlier this year.

But his speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Shangri-La forum marked a dramatic shift in tone for the Pentagon, which under Gates' predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, used the event to confront China and criticise Beijing for a lack of transparency on its military build-up.

Gates, in fact, made few references to China.

He said Washington was worried about the ''opaqueness'' of Beijing's military spending and modernisation programmes. He noted that the Pentagon's recently released annual report on China's military power highlighted the areas of military enlargement and weapons development Beijing pursuing.

SHARED INTERESTS While cautioning that ''distrust and secrecy can lead to miscalculation and unnecessary confrontation'', Gates said the United States and China shared interests in areas such as terrorism and energy security.

''As we gain experience in dealing with each other, relationships can be forged that will build trust over time,'' he said.

Chinese Senior Colonel Yao Yunzhu of the People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Science pressed Gates after the speech about what approaches Washington should adopt to deal with its concerns about Beijing, and whether Cold War approaches were relevant today.

Gates, a former CIA director and career Soviet expert, said the Cold War had demonstrated that regular interaction and dialogue was critical to understanding the intentions of nations. During the Cold War, that dialogue occurred with the Soviet Union in regular talks on arms control deals, he said.

''While we have no conflict at this point, this kind of transparency, this kind of discussion is the kind of thing that prevents miscalculation,'' he told the Chinese representative.

''That kind of dialogue, whether or not it involves specific proposals for arms control or anything else, I think is immensely valuable and I think it's one of the great assets of the developing military-to-military dialogue between the United States and the People's Republic,'' he said.

Gates pressed Asian nations to provide more assistance to Afghanistan and other Central Asian states.

Just as he urged European allies in February to provide more aid in that war zone, Gates said today that Asian states should help Afghanistan with governance, reconstruction and counter-narcotics programmes.

He also said some Asian states could send more military trainers.

''The entire region is susceptible to the rise of extremist movements so the rest of Asia has a large stake in making sure Central Asian nations are equipped to deal with this threat,'' he said.

Reuters SZ GC0842

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