China rejects 'ridiculous' U.S.
accusation of South China Sea militarization
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[May 31, 2018]
BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. assertions
that China is militarizing the South China Sea are "ridiculous", China
said on Thursday, after U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said
Washington would confront China's actions in the disputed waterways.
Mattis said on Tuesday the United States would push back against what it
sees as China's militarization of islands in the South China Sea despite
China's condemnation of a voyage through the region on the weekend by
two U.S. Navy ships.
"The United States military presence in the South China Sea is greater
than that of China and other countries that surround the seas combined,"
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular
briefing.
Hua also questioned whether U.S. Navy "freedom of navigation" operations
were really about preserving the right for ships to sail through the
region or an attempt to maintain hegemony.
"This sounds like a case of a thief crying 'stop thief' to cover their
misdeeds," she said.
Speaking at a separate briefing, defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang
said they had noted that the United States had recently been "turning a
blind eye to the facts and hyping up" the militarization of the South
China Sea.
No country has the right to "make irresponsible remarks" about China's
building of necessary defense facilities on its own territory, Ren said.
However, he said the United Sides had formally proposed Mattis visit
China, and both countries were coordinating on details. He did not
provide a date for a possible trip.
The Global Times, a state-backed Chinese tabloid that does not reflect
official policy, said in an editorial on Thursday that China must
prepare to forcefully respond to any "extreme" U.S. interference in the
South China Sea.
"Aside from deploying defensive weapons on the Spratly Islands, China
should build a powerful deterrence system, including an aerial base and
a roving naval force and base," the paper said.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis testifies before a Senate Armed
Services Committee hearing on the “Defense Department budget posture
in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2019 and the
Future Years Defense Program” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S.,
April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
Reuters first reported that two U.S. Navy warships sailed near South
China Sea islands claimed by China on Sunday, prompting anger in
Beijing, which claims most of the strategic waters where Chinese,
Japanese and some Southeast Asian navies operate.
While the Sunday operation had been planned months in advance, and
similar operations have become routine, it comes at a sensitive time
and days after the Pentagon withdrew an invitation to China to
attend a major U.S.-hosted naval drill.
Pentagon officials have long complained that China has not been
candid enough about its rapid military build-up and using South
China Sea islands to gather intelligence.
Recent satellite photographs showed China appeared to have deployed
truck-mounted surface-to-air missiles or anti-ship cruise missiles
at Woody Island.
This month, China's air force landed bombers on disputed islands and
reefs in the South China Sea as part of a training
exercise.[L3N1SR08Q]
Mattis is expected to have strong words for China at a Shangri-la
dialogue conference in Singapore beginning on Friday.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Christian Shepherd; Editing by
Darren Schuettler, Robert Birsel)
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