China Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian Friday said that if the U.S. continues with its provocative military actions in the Asian region, his country will be forced to take retaliatory measures to safeguard its security interests.
“We strongly oppose the deployment of U.S. medium-range, land-based missiles in our region and express our strong dissatisfaction with the frequent pressure on China’s neighbors,” the senior official said.
Lijian mentioned that the White House shows its Cold War mentality as it increases the U.S. military presence in the area with military exercises and demonstrations.
He urged Washington to take a responsible attitude and concentrate its efforts on maintaining global and regional peace and not the other way around.
“If the U.S. insists on following its own path, China will take the necessary countermeasures to firmly safeguard our own security interests,” the spokesman warned.
The diplomat negatively valued the words of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea, who said that the White House plans to discuss the deployment of missiles with some Pacific countries to counter China’s nuclear arsenal.
Lijian said his country supports the START III Treaty, an offensive arms control agreement between Russia and the U.S, as it gives not only the strategic security of the U.S. and Russia but also global stability.
In the last few months, the U.S. has been on the offensive against China. U.S. President Trump has attempted to blame China as solely responsible for the pandemic multiple times and made comments against Chinese immigrants in the U.S., including calling the virus the “Kung Flu”. Trump then carried out a number of orders against Chinese businesses in the US as well, including Tiktok, WeChat, and has indicated banning the e-commerce company Alibaba as well. The U.S. also supported India in the recent Indo-China confrontation.
