Article Posted on : - Jan 13, 2011

China has recently test flown its new 5th-generation fighter J-20.

WASHINGTON (PTI): Ahead of the State visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao, a top American military leader has said that many of the modern military capabilities being developed by Beijing are focused on the United States.

"Many of these capabilities seem to be focused very specifically on the United States," Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told foreign journalists here, when asked about the high-tech military equipments, anti-satellite missiles and fifth generation fighter aircraft being developed by China.

The latest news reports in this regard, he said, had not come as a surprise to him because he had watched them evolve this capability.

"In that regard, it is significant. But in a sense that it's not a surprise, and I've spoken to this many times, China is investing in very high-end, high-tech capabilities.

"The question that is always out there is to try to understand exactly why, that the opaqueness of that tied to our lack of relationship is something that I'd like to see if we can crack open," Mullen said.

He said China was an emerging global country with global influence and they had every right to develop the military they want.

Mullen said the just-concluded visit of Defence Secretary Robert Gates to Beijing was highly successful.

"More importantly, from my perspective, is the visit itself and the need for us to figure out a way to establish and sustain military-to-military relations; and where we can, as was asked before, we do have some common interests; and figure a way out into the future that in this relationship we have a much better understanding of each other.

"So I was delighted to see that Secretary Gates both asked and then received that access," he added.