CHINA/DEFENSE/FOREIGN POLICY: “China pushed back against a Pentagon warning about the Chinese military’s growing ambitions outside Asia, calling the U.S. report ‘irresponsible’ and saying China’s defense policy was aimed at safeguarding its sovereignty.
In a new report on the Chinese military published Tuesday [6-6-17], the U.S. Defense Department said China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army, was likely to try to expand its operations outside the region, while strengthening its ability to defend expansive territorial claims closer to home.
‘China’s defense is for safeguarding China’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing Tuesday. Criticizing the U.S. for maintaining a ‘Cold War mentality,’ Ms. Hua said the Pentagon report was written ‘without regard for the facts.’ “
-Josh Chin, “China Criticizes Pentagon Report, Laments U.S. ‘Cold War Mentality’,” The Wall Street Journal online, June 7, 2017 08:54am