BEIJING — China said on Tuesday it plans to extend its military’s global reach to safeguard its economic and maritime interests, while insisting it did not seek confrontation with its neighbors despite “provocative actions”over disputed islands and “meddling” by the
BEIJING — China said on Tuesday it plans to extend its military’s global reach to safeguard its economic and maritime interests, while insisting it did not seek confrontation with its neighbors despite “provocative actions”over disputed islands and “meddling” by the United States.
A policy document issued by the Cabinet setting out China’s military strategy underlined the country’s growing global defense ambitions linked to its dramatic economic rise.
But Beijing insisted its military was dedicated to “international security cooperation” and peaceful development.
It said the navy would expand its focus from “offshore waters defense” to put more emphasis on “open seas protection” as China aims to establish itself as a maritime power. The air force, meanwhile, would shift its focus from “territorial air defense to both defense and offense.”
Last December, China sent a 700-strong peacekeeping force to South Sudan, a nation where it has extensive oil interests, marking the first time it has ever sent an infantry battalion on a United Nations mission.
China also is negotiating with the strategic port of Djibouti to open a military base there, to support anti-piracy naval escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported. The United States and France already have a military presence in the tiny Horn of Africa nation.
“With the growth of China’s national interests, the security of our overseas energy and resources, strategic sea lines of communication, and the safety of our overseas institutions, personnel and assets, have become prominent issues,” Senior Col. Zhang Yuguo told a news conference.
He added, however, a note of outreach apparently aimed at the United States and other countries closely watching China’s military growth.
“China will never seek hegemony or divide up spheres of power, nor will it engage in military alliances or expansion,” he said.
Closer to home, China’s expanding military power has rattled its neighbors and set it on a possible collision course with Washington.
This year in particular, Washington has repeatedly condemned a rapid program of land reclamation and construction on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea. A U.S. surveillance plane was warned to leave the area by the Chinese navy last week, while Beijing lodged a formal diplomatic complaint.
Defense ministry spokesman, Senior Col. Yang Yujun, compared China’s construction activities on the islands to “everyday actions” like building houses, roads and bridges. But he acknowledged that the facilities being built on the islands – that include an airstrip and radar stations – will have both military and civilian uses.
He said the Chinese military was responding to increasingly frequent surveillance flights in a “legal and professional manner,” but the issue was being hyped up to “throw mud” at China.
“There’s no ruling out the possibility that some country is seeking an excuse for its potential action in the future,” he said. “I don’t think this is a new trick. It’s an old trick.”
On Monday, state-owned tabloid the Global Times warned that battle was “inevitable” between the two nations if the United States tried to prevent China from finishing its land reclamation and construction work. It said the risks were “still under control” if Washington accepted China’s peaceful rise.
While not necessarily representing official thinking, the editorial reflects China’s determination to continue with its construction work in the South China Sea.
Col. Yang said Sino-U.S. relations were generally good, and noted that both militaries have signed agreements to govern air and maritime encounters and prevent crises.
But the policy paper expressed concern about the United States’ “rebalancing strategy” that has seen it enhance its military presence and strengthen military alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as concern over more assertive military and security policies in Japan. It accused China’s neighbors of provocative actions by reinforcing their military presence on “China’s reefs and islands that they have illegally occupied.”
“Some external countries are also busy meddling in South China Sea affairs,” it said, adding in a clear reference to the United States: “a tiny few maintain constant close-in air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China.”
Philippines President Benigno Aquino was quoted as saying on Monday that his nation would continue flying over disputed islands in the South China Sea, while Defense Minister Voltaire Gazmin said he was seeking a “stronger commitment” from the United States to help its ally, according to news agency reports.
China responded angrily.
“I would like to remind the Philippines that China will not bully small countries, but small countries must not ceaselessly and willfully make trouble,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news conference “We hope the Philippines can cease its instigation and provocation, and return to the correct path of resolving the problem through negotiation and consultation.”
On Tuesday, state media reported that China had hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the building of two lighthouses in the disputed Spratly Islands, a move that Hua said was meant to fulfill China’s international obligations, but is unlikely to ease concerns about Beijing’s expanding influence.
— Xu Yangjingjing contributed to this report.
