Beijing blasts US report critical of Chinese military

World Today

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China reacted quickly and with strong opposition to a new report from the U.S. Department of Defense.

CGTN’s Sean Callebs reports.

The U.S. is alleging China is dramatically building up its military muscle, allegedly taking aim at U.S. and allied targets – and sending a warning to Taiwan to discourage any thoughts of independence.

The response comes on the heels of a U.S. Pentagon report issued this week — that focuses on China’s military.

The Pentagon says that China’s People’s Liberation Army is rapidly expanding.

The report goes on to say, Beijing is working on fleet of stealthy, long-range bombers, likely training its pilots for missions that would target the United States.

The U.S. also maintains the bombers will be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

China’s Ministry of National Defense issued a quick rebuttal—with strong objections to the U.S. report.

In a statement saying, “We call on the U.S. to abandon its Cold War mentality, regard China’s defense and military construction in an objective and rational way.”

Beijing blasts US report critical of Chinese military

The statement goes on to say, “We also request that the U.S. stops releasing the related reports and safeguards the stable development of the two countries’ military with real actions.”

Chinese officials defends its military spending as relatively modest, saying Beijing’s defense budget is about $175 billion this year—compared to the $716 billion the U.S. will spend this fiscal year.

Chinese authorities say the Pentagon aims to treat China as an imaginary enemy—and creates a potential confrontation between the two nations.

The United States report, released on Thursday, also focuses on Taiwan.

China has always maintained Taiwan is part of China – it says this is an “iron fact.”

Beijing is calling on the U.S. to stick to its longstanding “one China” policy.

The report from the Pentagon says China is deploying “increasingly advance(d) military capabilities – intended to coerce Taiwan” in a bid to prevent the island from pursuing independence.

The report says China is flexing its military muscle internationally – pointing out that China has established its first overseas military base in Djibouti—in the Horn of Africa.

Beijing says it is “firmly” adhering to the path of peaceful development.


Zhang Junshe discusses U.S.-China military tensions

CGTN’s Sean Callebs spoke with Senior Captain Zhang Junshe, the vice president of the PLA Naval Research Institute, about the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Chinese militaries following a Pentagon report on China’s military plans.