Pundits talk about China

…and make no sense at all. Here’s the Telegraph trying to downplay the news about the secret submarine base at Sanya:

In a recent piece for our sister paper, The Sunday Telegraph, the Chinese ambassador to London rightly asked Britain not to “demonise” China, and to offer it more respect and understanding.

All should agree that such a process has to be built around openness; too often China seeks to conceal its activities, and becomes defensive when questioned - for example, over its treatment of Tibet, or its incarceration of political prisoners, or its many other breaches of human rights.

We must not be alarmist over China’s increasing power, but we must urge that it behaves in a moral fashion towards both its people and its fellow nations. Otherwise, however great its economic and military might become, its remarkable people will never enjoy the recognition and respect they undoubtedly deserve.

That last line cracks me up. Why would China worry about “recognition and respect” from people it is determined to relegate to a 2nd-rate status?

CIA Director Michael Hayden gave a speech which didn’t sound too bad in this article from the Pakistan Times:

“China is an economic and strategic competitor with the United States,” said Hayden in a Kansas speech on 21st-century trends, adding the country was likely to continue a “troubling” military build up. “China, a communist-led, nuclear state that aspires to - and will likely achieve - great power status during this century, will be the focus of US attention (in Asia),” he said. “It all depends on whether China acts from a narrow self-interest or with broader perspective,” said Hayden in a speech at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.

Makes it look like he’s keeping his eye on the ball. But the AP’s version of his speech gave a much softer statement:

During his 40 minute lecture, Hayden said China was likely to be a political and economic competitor by the middle of the century but should not be treated as an “inevitable enemy” of the United States.
…
China’s military buildup, which is intended both to counter U.S. military capabilities and to intimidate an independence-minded Taiwan, is as much about projecting an image of strength and “great power status” as it is to gain a tactical or strategic military advantage, he said.

I hope the Pakistani press has it right.