A top Chinese Army General on Sunday slammed the United States and Japan for “provoking” China, a day after >U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel had accused Beijing of “destabilising” the region.
Mr. Hagel, speaking on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a top regional security forum in Singapore, said China had, in recent months, “undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea”. He was referring to recent spats involving China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
At the conference, >Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also hit out at China over the disputes, pledging support to Vietnam and the Philippines. Mr. Abe said Japan would supply naval patrol vessels to both countries and boost its security presence in the region.
On Sunday, People’s Liberation Army Deputy Chief of General Staff Wang Guanzhong blasted Mr. Hagel and Mr. Abe, saying they were “singing notes in chorus”.
“They were corroborating and colluding and using the opportunities to speak first at the Shangri-La Dialogue to take the initiative to provoke and challenge China,” he told the meeting.
The PLA official was particularly aggrieved by the Japanese leader’s speech, which did not directly mention China but warned of “elements that spawn instability” in the region.
“Hagel was being quite frank,” the Chinese official said. “He just bluntly and openly criticised China, albeit baseless. But I rather like his way of talking. If you want to say something, it’s better to just say it directly”.
Mr. Abe’s remarks, he said, were “full of innuendoes” and “aimed at China”.
“If you also look at what the United States and Japan did, it was not difficult to see who took the initiative to pick fights and incite disputes and conflicts,” he said. “From the speeches of Abe and Hagel, we can see who on earth are aggressive. It is the United States and Japan corroborating with each other, and not China.”