China-US relations: Beijing slams Pentagon report, blames Taipei for stirring up regional tensions
- ‘China Military Power Report’ makes ‘groundless accusations’ about Beijing’s spending, nuclear policies and Taiwan, defence ministry says
- Military advancement ‘driven by defending national sovereignty’ and is no threat to any country, it says
A US report accusing China of ramping up its nuclear and missile forces to “revise” the international order is libellous and provocative, Beijing said on Sunday.
In an official statement, China’s defence ministry expressed its “resolute opposition” to the “China Military Power Report”, which was published recently by the US defence department.
“It makes groundless accusations about China’s military spending, nuclear policies and Taiwan issues,” he said.
“Chinese military advancement was driven by defending national sovereignty, safety and development. It is not against any country and would not threaten any country,” Wu said, adding that the US report was a display of “hegemony and provocation” and damaging to military ties between the two powers.
A major concern highlighted in the US report was the build-up of Chinese ground, air and naval forces that could be made available in the event of an invasion of Taiwan or an armed conflict with the self-ruled island.
But China’s defence ministry blamed the Taiwanese government and “foreign forces” for stirring up trouble in the region.
“The cause of the current tensions in the Taiwan Strait is the [ruling] Democratic Progressive Party’s attempt … to resist reunification with force as well as external anti-China forces’ attempts to … split China,” it said.
“The US does not reflect on its own behaviour but releases a report on the normal military build-up of China,” it said. “We ask the US to take a rational stance on China’s capability development and stop its wrongful statements and reports.”
Washington has become increasingly concerned about China’s military expansion since Beijing set a goal to establish a “world-class military” capable of rivalling that of the US by 2049.
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The Pentagon report said China might already have surpassed US military capabilities in the areas of missile development and shipbuilding. Beijing’s goal was to leverage its military might to advance its foreign policy and “revise aspects of the international order”, it said.
The United States’ military budget for 2019 was US$686 billion.
