BANGKOK: In a scathing response on Wednesday, China denounced the United States as the “principal disruptor of peace and stability in the world.”
This condemnation came as a direct retort to a Pentagon report assessing China’s expanding military buildup. This annual report, mandated by Congress, serves as one of the Pentagon’s mechanisms for evaluating China’s military capabilities, a matter of significant concern for the U.S. government within the Asia-Pacific region and as its foremost long-term security challenge. The Ministry of Defense in China issued a statement countering the Pentagon report, deeming its findings as inaccurate. In this counterstatement, China utilized the opportunity to criticize recent U.S. actions, particularly its support for Israel and Ukraine, along with its global proliferation of military installations.
Wu Qian, the spokesperson for China’s defense ministry, questioned the U.S.’s actions, stating that is this what the self-proclaimed ‘human rights defender’ is delivering to the region? The U.S. has dispatched depleted uranium munitions and cluster bombs to Ukraine, deployed carrier battle groups in the Mediterranean, and provided weapons and munitions to Israel.
The latest Pentagon report builds upon a warning issued last year, highlighting China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear capabilities, aligning with a broader military buildup. The previous warning had indicated that Beijing was on a trajectory to increase its warhead count nearly fourfold to 1,500 by 2035.
In anticipation of a potential meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in November, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is scheduled to visit the United States on Thursday. The U.S.-China relationship has experienced a significant downturn since 2018, initially stemming from a trade dispute and later encompassing issues related to the pandemic, China’s actions in Xinjiang, and Taiwan.
China also addressed the Taiwan situation in its response. The Pentagon’s report noted that China is intensifying military, diplomatic, and economic pressure on the self-governed island.
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China asserts that Taiwan is an integral part of its territory and has become increasingly assertive in recent years regarding this claim. This stance has emerged as a primary point of contention in U.S.-China relations, as U.S. support for Taiwan has grown, accompanied by substantial arms sales to the island for self-defense and deterrence purposes.
The spokesperson emphasized, that we call on the U.S. to cease using any pretext or means to strengthen military ties with Taiwan and to refrain from supplying Taiwan with armaments in violation of international law.
The U.S. furnishes arms sales to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, which was enacted by Congress in 1979 to ensure the island’s capacity to defend itself.
