China says US report ‘irresponsible’
Print Edition
CHINA has dismissed as irresponsible an annual US Defense Department report that highlights construction on man-made islands in the South China Sea and speculates that China would build more bases overseas.
The report made “irresponsible remarks on China’s national defense development and reasonable actions in defending our territorial sovereignty and security interests in disregard of the facts,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters yesterday.
“China is firmly opposed to that,” Hua said, adding that her government was a force for safeguarding peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.
The report estimates China spent US$180 billion last year on its military, a figure well above its US$140 billion defense budget.
“China most likely will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a long-standing friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries,” the report said.
Hua said: “We have noted the report released by the US which made irresponsible remarks about China’s national defense development in disregard of the facts.” She noted that the “friendly cooperation (between China and Pakistan) does not target any third party.”
As part of China’s Belt and Road project, China and Pakistan are building an economic corridor to link northwest China to the Arabian Sea.
China started building its first overseas military base in February last year in the small nation of Djibouti, just a few kilometers from Camp Lemonnier, the US base in the Horn of Africa nation. But American military leaders have said they don’t see it as a threat that will interfere with US operations there.
China has cited anti-piracy patrolling as one of the reasons for developing a naval logistics center in Djibouti, where construction began in February 2016. The facility will support the country’s UN peacekeepers in Africa, allow it to evacuate its nationals in a crisis, and support anti-piracy activities off Somalia.
The Pentagon report noted that the camp, “along with regular naval vessel visits to foreign ports, both reflects and amplifies China’s growing influence, extending the reach of its armed forces.”
The report also focused on the buildup in China’s Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.
It said that as of late last year, China was building 24 fighter-sized hangars, fixed-weapons positions, barracks, administration buildings and communication facilities on each of the three largest outposts.
China says the bases are there to improve navigational safety and assist fishermen. They also help reinforce sovereignty claims, and China is fully entitled to provide them with defensive capabilities.
“That we develop national defense is to safeguard China’s independent sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is a legitimate right of a sovereign state,” Hua said.
She expressed the hope that the US side would “view China’s military development in an objective and rational manner, and take concrete actions to maintain steady growth of the military relationship between the two countries.”
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