IN THE usually subtle games of diplomacy, China often seems to prefer to wield a sledgehammer. The shrill reaction from Beijing to the awarding of a Nobel prize to a Chinese dissident last year was one such example. Then there are the regular protests about any country, including Australia, that dares to host a visit by the Dalai Lama. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates had a taste of China's contempt this week, arriving in Beijing in an effort to mend miliary ties only to be confronted with the surprise news that China had successfully conducted a test flight of a stealth jet fighter.
The timing of the test flight sent an unmistakable message: China is determined to match its growing economic might with sophisticated military muscle. The visit by Mr Gates followed the decision by China to break off military co-operation with the US last year in a protest against a multibillion-dollar arms sale by America to Taiwan. Mr Gates had sought to make a trip to Beijing in June to repair relations, only to be rebuffed by the top generals in China. Only ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the US next week was Mr Gates finally extended the welcome mat.
But the decision to test the J-20 stealth fighter in the hours before he landed in Beijing raised doubts for many analysts about the extent to which China's communist leaders actually control the actions of the vast People's Liberation Army. President Hu and his aides seemed unaware of the test when Mr Gates raised the J-20 flight during their meeting - with the Chinese only to later return to the issue and say it had nothing to do with his visit. This will reinforce the often heard complaint in the US that China should be more transparent about its military modernisation. This concern also featured in deliberations about Australia's military preparedness, as disclosures in leaked US diplomatic cables make clear.
China's Defence Minister, Liang Guanglie, insists that a gap of two or three decades remains between China's military capability and that of advanced countries. Economists might revel in guessing games over when China might overtake the US as the world's largest economy, but the Middle Kingdom is clearly a long way behind the US in terms of military might. China is expected to launch its first aircraft carrier this year, but it is a refurbished Soviet-era vessel rather than a modern ship. The US, by contrast, has 11 carriers on the water.
Even the J-20 flight may have been a display of bark rather than bite - it apparently flew for just 18 minutes and could be years away from entering service. The present US stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor, was first drawn up in 1981, flew for the first time in 1990 and only became operational in 2004.
But there are disturbing signs that China has become more brazen in flexing its military might. It clashed with neighbours over disputed claims to island territory in the South China Sea last year, and muscled up to Japan over fishing rights. It has tested anti-ship and anti-satellite ballistic missiles, and General Liang felt no compulsion to extend an olive branch to
Mr Gates, responding cooly to a proposal for a wide-ranging dialogue on issues such as nuclear weapons and cyber-warfare. But it would greatly improve regional confidence if China were more open about its regional ambitions.
Australia is left in a delicate position between these jostling superpowers. China is Australia's largest export market and two-way trading partner, with total trade growing by 8.8 per cent in the previous financial year to $90.3 billion. The US continues to slip down the list.
And yet, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard has gone out of her way to affirm, the US remains Australia's ''great ally''. It is difficult to imagine that Australia could share equally close ties with the authoritarian rulers in Beijing.

source;watoday