China has slammed the U.S. for militarising the South China Sea and escalating tensions that have been fuelled by maritime disputes in these waters, which are vital for the conduct of international trade.
China’s Defence Ministry on Thursday accused Washington of staging patrols and joint military exercises. At the heart of the sharpening rhetoric is the territorial dispute in South China Sea which has pitted China with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
Obama’s ‘Asia Pivot’Military activity in the Pacific has been accelerating following President Barack Obama’s “Asia Pivot” or “Rebalance” doctrine, which has led Washington to position 60 per cent of its forces in the Pacific. In Beijing, the “Asia Pivot” doctrine is seen as a China-containment policy.
The Chinese have been especially piqued by last Monday’s surveillance mission undertaken by U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral Scott Swift, who, for seven hours, flew on a reconnaissance mission aboard a P-8A plane in the South China Sea.
Last week, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of U.S. naval operations, disclosed in a five-page “navigation plan” that Washington would beef up the aerial component of the U.S. Pacific Command.
On Thursday, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said at a news briefing that the U.S. was fuelling the “China threat” in a bid to drive differences between China and other claimant countries in the South China Sea.
For a long time, the U.S. had carried out frequent, widespread, close-in surveillance of China, by sending ships and aircraft to the region, he added.
“Recently they have further increased military alliances and their military presence, frequently holding joint drills.”
Mr. Yang stressed that China’s on-going naval exercise was routine and did not target a third party.
