Rumsfeld challenges China over military build-up

US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld issued a blunt challenge to China at a regional security conference, saying Beijing must provide more political freedom to its citizens, and questioned its recent military build-up.

Rumsfeld said the Pentagon’s annual assessment of China’s military capabilities showed China was spending more than its leaders acknowledged, expanding its missile capabilities and developing advanced military technology. China now had the world’s third-largest military budget, Rumsfeld said, behind the US and Russia.