China has accused the US of making “groundless accusations” about developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan.
China objected to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments that called on allies in the Indo-Pacific region to spend more on defence after warning of China’s “real and potentially imminent” threat.
Earlier, Mr Hegseth warned at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that China’s army “is rehearsing for the real deal,” to invade Taiwan.
Hu Gangfeng, vice president of China’s National Defence University, said the accusations were “nothing more than attempts to provoke trouble, incite division and stir up confrontation to destabilise the Asia-Pacific region.”
“Some of the claims are completely fabricated, some distort facts, and some are cases of a thief crying ‘stop, thief’,” he said.
He did not offer specific objections.
China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to “reunify” with the democratic and separately governed island, by force if necessary.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
China has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims, including increasing the intensity of war games around Taiwan.
Australia calls out the lack of transparency from China
When asked about Australia’s defence spending, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed it would increase its investment.
“We’ll determine our defence policy, and we’ve just invested across the forwards an additional $10 billion on defence,” he told the ABC.
“What we’ll do is continue to provide for investing in our capability, but also our relationships in the region.”
Defence Minister Richard Marles pointed out that while Australia was making its investments public, China was yet to explain the rationale behind its largest conventional military build-up since World War II.
“It is not just the size of the [China’s] military build-up, it is the fact that it is happening without strategic reassurance and without a clear strategic intent,” he told the ABC, at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
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