PRESS RELEASE
China: We Won’t Allow Chaos on Our Doorstep
Aug. 31, 2017 (EIRNS)—China and Russia are both standing by their contention that there is no military solution to the problem of North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, even in the wake of the latest test on Aug. 29, when North Korea launched a medium-range missile that flew over Japan and landed in the ocean about 1,200 km east of Hokkaido.
Senior Col. Ren Guoqiang, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, made clear today that while China objects to such missile testing, it will not allow war to come to the Korean Peninsula.
"We firmly oppose any trouble-making or trouble-provoking actions at the doorstep of China, definitely allow no war or chaos on the peninsula, and strongly urge that all relevant parties would exercise restraint instead of provoking each other and escalating regional tensions,"
he said during the ministry’s monthly press briefing.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a similar message for U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Aug. 30, during a phone call initiated by the U.S. side.
Back in Washington, Secretary of Defense James Mattis hosted South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo yesterday, for discussions on the U.S.-South Korean alliance. They expressed support for "ongoing diplomatic efforts" for the denuclearization of the North, while also stressing the importance of the alliance, according top the readout issued by the Pentagon.
The U.S.-South Korean Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise concluded today. While the exercise did not involve U.S. strategic assets, such as B-1B bombers, a separate exercise, reported to be in direct response to the most recent North Korea missile launch, took place, involving not only two bombers and South Korean F-15K fighter jets, but also four U.S. Marine Corps F-35B joint strike fighters flying from their base in Japan. They staged air-to-ground precision-strike drills against the North’s core facilities over the Pilseung Range in the eastern mountainous province of Gangwon, reported the Yonhap news agency.
"The U.S. did not dispatch bombers (to Korea) during the exercise in hopes that the reduced scale would send a positive signal to North Korea and the region,"
an unnamed U.S. Forces Korea official said. But instead the North responded to the gesture with a series of provocative acts, said the official.
