The Pentagon once again pointed the finger at China in its report to the US Congress on the nation's military power.

The commanding tone of the report clearly indicates that its authors believe the United States should act as "global policeman" that punishes any country daring to break its rules.

China is an independent nation, and like every other sovereign state, it has the right to develop a military capability that matches the size of its territory, its population and its national economic strength.

China is not obliged to seek permission from any other country to develop its military strength, although it has made clear the purpose of its military budget.

The Pentagon has nothing to worry as long as it has no intention of provoking China.

Peaceful development is a promise that Chinese leaders have made to the entire world many times and on many occasions.

But peaceful development does not clash with a nation's need to build up its defensive military capability.

The report says "analysis of China's military acquisitions suggests it is also generating capabilities that could apply to other regional contingencies such as conflicts over resources or territory."

The authors of the report seem to have forgotten the fact that it is just their own country that has military presence in regions far beyond its territorial boundary.

As such a large country with a population of 1.3 billion, China needs to have a military capable of defending its territorial integrity and guaranteeing a peaceful environment for its economic development.

The Pentagon is in no position to decide how strong a specific country's military ought to be, or how many tanks, fighter jets or missiles the country needs.

Our basic principle is that we need military capabilities strong enough to protect us from military intimidation or invasion.

Might in itself is not a threat, unless it is meant to be.

The report says that China's "military expansion is already such as to alter the regional military balance." It expresses concern about the situation across the Taiwan Straits.

The Taiwan question is an internal affair of China, which has been trying every means possible to realize peaceful reunification.

But these efforts for a peaceful settlement do not justify a lack of military capabilities for any contingencies across the Straits.

Given that diehard secessionists always cherish the hope of splitting the island from its motherland and have been trying to force events in that direction, our country must have that military might even though it may not necessarily need to use it in the end.

(China Daily May 26, 2006)