China rejects Pentagon report on troops build-up

China has condemned a report by the Pentagon, which said that it has increased its defence capabilities and added more troops along the border with India.

“The report ‘hyped’ China’s military threat and lack of transparency, ‘deliberately distorted’ Chinese defence policies and ‘unfairly’ depicted Chinese activities in the East and South China seas”, the country’s Defence Ministry Spokesperson Yang Yujun said on May 16. He added that the country’s military build-up and reforms were aimed at maintaining sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. These steps would include China’s peaceful development.

“We have noticed an increase in capability and force posture by the Chinese military in areas close to the border with India”, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia Abraham M Denmark had said on May 13. Submitting its annual report to the Congress on Chinese military activities the same day, the US Defence Department said that Beijing is expected to add substantial military infrastructure. The report also said that additions include communications and surveillance systems to artificial islands in the South China Sea this year.

With geopolitical tensions increasing in the South China Sea, the release of the report has fuelled tensions between the US and China.

Author Profile

India Writes Network: India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.