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BEIJING: Any attempt to contain China is a “mission impossible,” the country’s Defense Ministry warned the United States on Thursday, as the Biden administration works to shore up its Asian alliances against Beijing.
Military tensions between the two superpowers worsened with former US President Donald Trump taking an aggressive stance on regional hotspots like Taiwan and the South China Sea.
At the same time, China invested billions in modernizing its military, in line with President Xi Jinping’s ambitions to transform the People’s Liberation Army into a fully modernized “world-class” fighting force by 2050.
“The facts show that containing China is an impossible mission, and he will only end up shooting himself in the foot,” Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian warned on Thursday.
“Sino-US military relations are currently at a new historic starting point” with the arrival of the Biden administration, Wu said, urging the United States to adopt a “non-confrontational, mutual respect and win-win mentality. “.
Tensions between the two superpowers have shown no signs of abating under the Biden administration, which deployed groups of warships, including a US aircraft carrier, to the South China Sea over the weekend.
China has increasingly asserted its presence in the disputed region in recent years, aggressively expanding its territory across islands and artificial reefs, much to the chagrin of Southeast Asian neighbors with rival claims.
In response, the Trump administration frequently dispatched warships near Beijing-controlled islands in “freedom of navigation operations” that China has dismissed as mere poses.
Washington has sought to consolidate ties with Asian nations this week, and US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his administration’s “unwavering commitment” to defend Japan, including the disputed Senkaku Islands claimed by China, in a call. on Wednesday with the country’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga.
New US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III also discussed threats to regional security in recent calls with his counterparts in South Korea, Australia and India; the latter two have seen ties with China deteriorate.
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday dismissed the security alliance between the United States and Japan as a “relic of the Cold War” and said disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved between “countries directly involved”, and not those outside the region.
