WARS & RUMORS OF WARS: Chinese PLA “Making Preparations” For War With U.S.
Chinese Communist Party
mouthpiece the Global Times has warned the Trump administration that the
People’s Liberation Army is “making preparations” for war after the
deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson to patrol the South
China Sea.
An op-ed for the Global Times,
which is widely regarded as the voice of the Chinese government,
references U.S. intelligence assessments that China has “nearly finished
building almost two dozen military structures on artificial islands in
the South China Sea” in order to deploy long-range surface-to-air
missiles.
The article also
highlights comments by Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, commander of US 7th
Fleet, that the United States is unequivocally “prepared to fight if
necessary,” questioning why the U.S. is making “direct military threats”
against China.
However,
those threats are returned in kind, with Beijing insisting that it will
accelerate its military build-up if U.S. officials keep making
“condescending” comments.
“If the
US military insists on showing that it is capable of taming the China
Dragon, they are bound to see all kinds of advanced Chinese weapons as
well as other military deployments on the islands,” states the piece.
“US generals said they are ready to fight when necessary. The People’s Liberation Army is also making preparations.”
Earlier today Chinese officials also made it clear that they oppose the deployment of the USS Vinson, asserting that the ship was in the region to conduct surveillance.
Last
month, Beijing reacted to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s comments
that the Obama administration had been weak on allowing China to expand
operations in the South China Sea by claiming his comments could lead to a “military clash”.