What’s new: China’s Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday that it will neither “dance to the tune of the United States” nor allow the U.S. to “cause trouble” amid the ongoing tensions between the militaries of both countries.
Defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian told a monthly press briefing that China “opposes” and “is not afraid of” the recent U.S. military activities around China. He urged the U.S. to “stop such provocative moves” and “take rational actions” to push relations between two countries’ militaries back on the right track.
Wu also said China will “take firm countermeasures” if the U.S. deploys intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.
The background: Tensions between both countries’ militaries have escalated recently with the increasing frequency of U.S. military aircraft activities around China. Wu confirmed in a statement (link in Chinese) Tuesday that a U.S. spy plane intruded into a no-fly zone of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) established for live-fire exercises. State media on Wednesday reported another missile-detection aircraft trespassing in a separate PLA drill zone in the South China Sea.
Previously, U.S. special presidential envoy Marshall Billingslea said Washington was considering deploying ballistic missiles in Asia, including Japan, after it withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Japanese media reported that the U.S. had already begun consultations with Tokyo, but these have yet to be confirmed by the Japanese authorities.
Contact editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com)
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