China condemns US report on Chinese military
May 15, 2016, 5:10 am

An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol in south China Sea [Xinhua]

Defense Ministry Spokesman Yang Yujun on Saturday expressed “strong dissatisfaction” and “firm opposition” to the Pentagon report.

In its annual report to Congress on Chinese military activities, the US Defense Department said on Friday that China is expected to add substantial military infrastructure, including communications and surveillance systems, to artificial islands in the South China Sea this year.

The US report ‘deliberately distorted’ China’s defense policies, and ‘unfairly depicted’ China’s activities in the East China Sea and South China Sea, Yang said.

“China follows a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. Moves such as deepening military reforms and the military buildup are aimed at maintaining sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and guaranteeing China’s peaceful development,” Yang said.

It is the United States that has always been suspicious and flexing its military muscle by frequently sending military aircraft and warships to the region, Yang said.

Both China and the US accuse each other of militarizing the South China Sea.

China’s reclamation work had added more than 3,200 acres (1,300 hectares) of land on seven features it occupied in the disputed Nansha islands (called Spratly by Vietnam and the US) in the space of two years.

The report said China had completed its major reclamation efforts in October, switching focus to infrastructure development, including three 9,800 foot-long (3,000 meter) airstrips that can accommodate advanced fighter jets.

Despite its call for the freedom of navigation and restraint for peace, the United States pushed forward the militarization in the South China Sea with an intention to exert hegemony, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The US annual report on China’s military and security developments has severely damaged mutual trust between the two sides, Yang said on Saturday.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, which is believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan also have rival claims in the South China Sea.

TBP and Agencies