PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Less than nine years ago, China used its weight in the United Nations Security Council to try to scuttle a peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
Now, in the latest sign of a new willingness to assume the role of a world leader, China has joined the latest UN mission to this violence-torn nation. In September and October, it sent 125 riot-control police to Haiti in what amounts to its most important contribution to a peacekeeping force ever.
"This is part of a move we've been seeing for the last two decades as China tries to become a world power and also a respected member of the international community," said Merle Goldman, an associate at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for East Asian Research. "What makes this unprecedented is that the Chinese are asserting their role as a peacekeeping power within what we consider the American sphere of influence."
Trading inaction for action
In the past, China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has been criticized for not participating in peacekeeping missions based on its policy of non-interference in other countries. But recently it has become more active in international affairs, hosting six-party negotiations on North Korea's nuclear weapons program and last month signing a landmark free trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
China has sent several small contingents to UN peacekeeping missions, including East Timor, Liberia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, but they have usually consisted of specialized personnel, such as engineers or doctors, and never a complete riot-control police unit.
So far, however, more than two months after joining the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, known as Minustah, the Chinese riot police have not seen any riots. Burdened with the formidable task of converting a filthy, leaky old factory into a spic-and-span, self-contained barracks, they have spent more time fending off mosquitoes and the searing Caribbean heat on construction duty than facing off against dangerous armed gangs.
Their commander, Zhao Xiaoxun, chuckled recently as he surveyed the activities of his contingent. His deputy lifted buckets of murky water out of a concrete underground tank and his explosives expert, shirtless, heaved boxes full of woks, noodles and other kitchen supplies from a shipping container onto a fork lift. Zhao, who before coming to Haiti was chief of China's 125,000 riot-control police, is no stranger to responsibility. But here he has been as much construction foreman as peacekeeping commander.
"These are China's best police, and look what they're doing," joked Zhao, a Beijing native who studied criminal justice at the University of California, Los Angeles.
An assignment of isolation
Prohibited from leaving the camp except when on a patrol or an official errand, the Chinese officers -- as is often the case with peacekeepers -- have had little contact with the local police and even less with the people. Nearly everything in their camp has been brought from China in 27 giant shipping containers, including portable toilets and walls for barracks. Except for vegetables and meat, which they buy at American-style supermarkets that cater to foreigners and Haiti's tiny elite, they brought their food from China, too.
"I hope I have the chance to get out of the camp and learn more about the Haitian people," said Han Yiqiu, 33, a police inspector from Tianjin. "We hear many gunshots every day and people here are very poor. I hope we can do something for them." Gunfights and police raids, not riots or protests, have dominated the landscape of Haiti's political conflict in recent weeks. Under orders from the Brazilian-led Minustah command, the Chinese contingent so far has stayed at the fringes of the violence that has racked Port-au-Prince.
The mission to Haiti is the first time China has sent a self-contained peacekeeping force, and the first time it has participated in a UN mission in Latin America, a region long seen as the backyard of the United States. It also has been involved in trade with countries in the region in recent years. Last month, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced $30 billion in new investments in Latin America during a 12-day trip to Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Cuba.
"We want to contribute to the world and participate in peace issues," said Ping Li, 41, who was with the East Timor mission and is now overseeing the mission in Haiti for China's Ministry of Public Security. "If this first riot-police unit can perform successfully and smoothly, then there is the possibility of a second one."
Some see ulterior motives in China's peacekeeping contribution, including Taiwan, which has maintained relations with Haiti since 1956.
"The PRC says it wants to play a major role in the world with more responsibility, but there is always something behind that," said Hsieh Hsin-Ping, the Taiwanese ambassador to Haiti. "[The Chinese] will exploit every opportunity to destroy relations between Taiwan and its diplomatic allies." He added, however, that "there is no indication" China is using the Haitian mission to pressure the Caribbean nation to break relations with Taiwan.
Thirteen countries in Latin America including Haiti recognize Taiwan, nearly half of all those in the world.
In 1996, China pressured the United Nations to end a peacekeeping force in Haiti after Taiwan Vice President Li Yuan-zu attended the inauguration of then-Haitian President Rene Preval. Canada ended up saving the mission by offering to pay for the entire peacekeeping force of 700 officers, but not before China alienated much of the developing world. Even Cuba joined other Latin American countries in denouncing China's efforts to sink the UN mission.
This time around, China is actively participating. "It seems to be part of the idea to establish China's credentials as a good citizen of the world," said June Teufel Dreyer, a professor at the University of Miami and a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. "The phrase the Chinese government uses is peacefully rising, which tries to counter some people's fears that China is becoming a threat as its military grows larger."
She added, however, that "anyone who really thinks that China's participation in peacekeeping missions is just a way of being a good citizen of the world is kidding themselves." Other countries with peacekeepers in Haiti are Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Jordan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Some analysts say the relatively small size of the Chinese contingent -- which represents only 1.5 percent of the total number of UN troops and police in Haiti -- and the fact it is under UN auspices poses no threat to U.S. dominance in the region and will do little to convince Haiti to sever ties with Taiwan.
The US State Department said Tuesday the games were a distraction although this does not seem so as Cuba has increased defence spending for the first time in many years in "a reflection of growing tensions between Washington and Havana."
Before one laughs at the defense capabilities of Cuba remember they are in bed with China.
-Am
HAVANA (AFP) Dec 15, 2004 Cuba pressed on Tuesday with its biggest military exercises in decades, with 400,000 reservists joining regular forces and millions of civilians in wargames which the authorities say are aimed at deterring a US invasion. The second day of the "Bastion 2004" exercise went ahead as the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said Cuba has increased defence spending for the first time in many years in "a reflection of growing tensions between Washington and Havana."
Cuban regular troops are also taking part in the exercises, heavily covered by the communist nation's official media.
Trucks towing armored cars and officers armed for battle were mobilized on the streets of Havana. Massive underground shelters where planes, tanks and heavy artillery are housed were opened to combat troops.
"The enemy will never catch us by surprise," the communist party daily, Granma said.
"The only way to stop aggression is to make it abundantly clear that, in this case, Cuba will become from one end (of the island) to the other an enormous wasp's nest that no aggressor, however powerful, will be able to overcome," Defense Minister Raul Castro said Monday.
"In the end, (the aggressor) will have to withdraw, bloodied and defeated, because this would be a war of all of the people," Castro, a younger brother of President Fidel Castro, warned.
Raul Castro said last week the exercises were in part to make sure that Washington "does not commit the errors it committed in Vietnam and that it is now committing in Iraq. So that they do not underestimate our people, who are united and more powerful than those in Iraq."
The IISS said in its annual Military Balance 2004/2005 report that most of the Soviet-made weapons used by the Cuban armed forces are outdated and considered obsolete by most experts.
Cuba's army is estimated at 38,000 troops with about 900 tanks. There is also a small navy and air force.
According to Cuban officials, the military has divided the island of 11 million people into 1,400 "defense zones" intended to be able to operate independently in case of war.
Squadrons trained in guerrilla tactics have several special Cuban-made arms including "Alejandro" rifles that fire anti-tank grenades and "Mambi" rifles designed to puncture heavy armor, as well as mines and anti-tank units.
Each zone has an anti-air heat-guided missile launcher.
The United States on Monday rejected assertions that it planned an invasion. "We don't think there is any justification, or any particular foundation for this kind of charge," said US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
These exercises "are just, I would say, one or more of the many things that the Cuban government does to try to distract people from the problems that they face in their daily lives," Boucher said.
The communist-run island sits some 90 miles (145 kilometers) off the coast of Florida.
Despite the military exercises and rhetoric, a delegation of US lawmakers and businessmen was to start talks in Havana on Wednesday about selling about 100 million dollars of US food and agricultural products to Cuba.
The war games also went ahead as the ailing President Castro welcomed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his only close ally in the Americas, whose government helps keep Cuba's economy afloat with cut-rate oil.
The two presidents were to have talks on Tuesday, with energy expected to be a key topic.
With its oil-burning plants, Cuba relies on imports from Venezuela, Latin America's only OPEC member, delivers 53,000 barrels of crude a day to Cuba. It is also a major supplier to the United States.
Cuba has increased its defence spending, IISS says
LONDON (AFP) Dec 14, 2004 Cuba has increased its defence spending "for the first time in many years", according to the annual armed forces review by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The move is "a reflection of growing tensions between Washington and Havana", according to the Military Balance 2004/2005, the publication of the the London-based IISS.
Cuban ground forces are made up of small and lightly armed autonomous units spread out all over the island in 126 small regions.
Most of the Soviet-made weapons used by the Cuban armed forces are outdated and considered obsolete by most experts.
The IISS believes the army consists of 38,000 men divided up into four to five armed brigades, nine mechanised infantry brigades, one airborne brigade, 14 reserve brigades and one frontier brigade.
These forces are supplemented by an air defence artillery regiment and a surface-to-air missile brigade.
Terrestrial forces can count on 900 Soviet-made tanks (T-34, T-54/55, T-62, , 700 armed troops transport vehicles (BTR-40/50/60/152), 500 mobile artillery pieces, 175 rocket-launchers and various missiles, including 300 surface-to-air missiles (SA-6/7/8/9/13/14/16).
The Cuban navy is made up of around 3,000 men and only small naval units: A Pauk II corvette, six Osa II patrol boats equipped with Styx surface-to surface missiles, three Stenka patrol boats, six minesweepers and 18 small Zhuk coastal patrol boats.
There are 550 naval infantry men defending Cuba's shoreline. They are armed with artillery and a limited number of missiles.
According to the IISS, the Cuban air force consists of 8,000 men divided into six squadrons: two are made up of 10 MiG-23BN fighters each, two with 30 MiG-21F planes each, one with 50 MiG-21bis and one comprising of 20 MiG-23MF and 6 MiG-29.
The air force also has attack helicopters (45 Mi-8/17 and Mi-25/35), four transport squadrons (a total of 30 vehicles) and 40 liaison helicopters.
Air defence forces have several types of Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles (AS-7, AA-2, AA-7, AA-8, AA-10, AA-11).
Finally, the Cuban forces are supplemented by a paramilitary force which includes 20,000 Interior Ministry state security men.
Excerpt: A series of mass exercises by Cuba's military, including a simulated invasion by US forces, represents an attempt by Havana to distract people from their daily hardships, the US State Department said Tuesday.
These "exercises are just, I would say, one or more of the many things that the Cuban government does to try to distract people from the problems that they face in their daily lives," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters here.
"China appears to be interested in doing business in this hemisphere but there is no economy in Cuba to speak of," said the official, who asked not to be identified. "Our guess is that the Chinese, too, appear to be positioning themselves for the inevitable transition. One would be a fool to invest in Cuba for any other reason."
-Am
China's Cuba investments indicate growing influence in region
By GARY MARX
Chicago Tribune
Posted on Mon, Dec. 20, 2004
HAVANA - In his first visit to Cuba, Chinese President Hu Jintao lent strong political support to this besieged nation but also came bearing gifts, including $500 million for a new nickel plant and $15 million for education, health and other areas.
Hu even pledged late last month to finance the manufacture of 1 million television sets on the island.
Experts say the Chinese investments could undercut the Bush administration's efforts to isolate Cuba and symbolize China's growing influence throughout Latin America, a region long known as America's back yard but increasingly ignored by U.S. policy-makers.
Overall, Hu signed investment deals worth more than $30 billion during his 12-day swing last month through a region eager to diversify its ties away from the United States and kick-start its nations' struggling economies with fresh capital.
"There are a lot of things happening in the region that the U.S. is not involved in and don't really seem to care," said Riordan Roett, director of the Western Hemisphere Studies program at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. "China is a marvelous fit."
So far, President Bush has expressed little concern about China's growing links to a region where the United States remains far and away the largest trading partner.
One U.S. official also dismissed the importance of Hu's trip to Cuba. "There seemed to be lots of agreements," the official said, "but they did not add up to much."
"China appears to be interested in doing business in this hemisphere but there is no economy in Cuba to speak of," said the official, who asked not to be identified. "Our guess is that the Chinese, too, appear to be positioning themselves for the inevitable transition. One would be a fool to invest in Cuba for any other reason."
Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank in Washington, said he expects China to proceed cautiously in a region marred by instability despite the optimism generated by Hu's trip.
Nonetheless, Hakim added, "That doesn't mean China is not going to be a major player. It just means that its not going to happen as quick as first indicated."
In Cuba, the Chinese-backed nickel operation will boost production of one of the nation's most important industries and pump tens of millions of dollars annually into the island's moribund economy.
These funds combined with the recent rapprochement between Cuba and the European Union could weaken U.S. efforts to topple President Fidel Castro's government by tightening the four-decade-old trade embargo.
"There is no question that the more foreign exchange Cuba earns the more detrimental it is for the Bush administration," said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. "Clearly, Cuba potentially gaining foreign exchange revenue from nickel is important."
On one level, China's increasing involvement in Latin America is strictly economic. With a surging economy, China is scouring the globe for new markets, trade opportunities and places where it can park its huge cash reserves.
China is specifically looking to Latin America for a steady supply of copper, bauxite, iron ore, oil and other raw materials for its industries, along with soybeans, grains, chicken and other commodities.
In return, Latin America needs Chinese capital to help its nations' economies emerge from recession and to finance costly road, rail and other infrastructure improvements.
As the world's most populous nation, China also represents a huge potential market for Latin American farmers and other exporters, though some Latin American manufacturers fear competition from their lower-cost Chinese counterparts.
Trade between China and Latin America doubled last year to almost $27 billion.
"China's size, fast growth, external openness and trade performance is being felt everywhere in Latin America," the Inter-American Development Bank wrote in an October report.
In Chile, President Ricardo Lagos and Hu announced the start of formal negotiations to secure a bilateral free trade agreement. The two nations agreed to negotiate a deal that would send large quantities of Chilean cooper to China while also securing Chinese financing for new copper mining projects.
In Argentina, the Chinese president signed cooperation deals that could see up to $20 billion in investments over the next decade primarily in railways, oil and gas exploration, and construction projects.
The linchpin of Hu's trip was Brazil, South America's economic and political powerhouse. In addition to offering up to $7 billion in investments in Brazilian ports and railways, Hu said he hoped trade between the two nations would double within three years and pledged wider access for Brazilian goods to China's market.
China is Brazil's third-largest trading partner and Argentina's fourth-largest.
"Sino-Latin American co-operation is facing an unprecedented historical opportunity," Hu told Brazilian legislators. "We should seize it and work side-by-side to push this friendly co-operations towards continuous progress."
But experts say China's aggressive steps into Latin America also contain a political component. China insists that any nation it does business with adopt a "one-China policy" recognizing that Taiwan remains part of China and has no right to conduct foreign relations.
China also is nurturing alliances with many developing countries to solidify its position in the World Trade Organization, flex its muscles on the world stage and act as a counterbalance to U.S. power.
Hu found a receptive audience in Latin America, where Bush, the Iraq war and a perceived unilateralist U.S. foreign policy are unpopular. Resentment also lingers over the failure of neo-liberal economic reforms championed by Washington to alleviate chronic unemployment and poverty.
Bush's main initiative in the region - a hemispheric free-trade accord - also has stalled amid a broader battle between developing nations and the U.S. and Europe over subsidies and other farm trade issues.
"There is a general souring of relations between the U.S. and Latin America," Hakim said.
China vows to enhance party, state cooperation with Cuba
Whoever gets to Cuba after Castro’s death wins!
He did not mince his words, arguing that the United States must be prepared to intervene within hours of Castro's death to prevent his compinches — his accomplices — from cementing their hold on power. #msg-2991903
-Am
China vows to enhance party, state cooperation with Cuba
www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-18 19:13:09
BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong said here Monday that the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) and government will strive to push forward bilateral relations with the Cuban Communist Party and government.
Zeng, also member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, made the remarks during his meeting with Raul Castro Ruz, second secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, in the Great Hall of the People.
Referring to Sino-Cuban relationship, Zeng said that it is at anew stage of all-round development, featuring comprehensive progress, deepening trust and friendship and cooperation in political and economic sectors and international issues.
"China and Cuba, both as socialist countries, are trying to seek the development ways in line with their domestic situation, which serves as a firm foundation for the two countries to enhancefriendly cooperative ties," Zeng said.
China will strictly implement the consensus reached by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro during Hu's visit to Cuba last November and further promote Sino-Cuban relations to a new high, Zeng said, noting that the CPC will further enhance exchanges and cooperation with Cuban Communist Party as well.
Raul Castro started an official visit to China on Sunday at theinvitation of the CPC.
Briefing Zeng on the Cuban history and current situation, Raul Castro said that Cuba keeps enhancing its traditional friendship with China.
"Our mutual-beneficial cooperation in economy and technology and cooperation in political and international affairs witnessed great progress with the promotion from the top leaders of both sides," he said.
Upon his arrival in Beijing Sunday afternoon, Raul Castro met with Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee. Some other Chinese senior Party and state leaders are scheduled to meet with him.
It is Raul Castro's second visit to China since 1997. He also serves as first vice-president of the Council of State and first vice-president of the Council of Ministers of Cuba. Enditem
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