Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman Blasts U.S. National Defense Authorization Act

Dec. 27, 2019 (EIRNS)—Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian struck out very hard yesterday against the anti-China provisions of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed by President Donald Trump last week, and the geopolitical orientation of U.S. policy towards China in general. Colonel Wu spoke Dec. 26 during his monthly press briefing.

“The groundless accusations made by some U.S. officials against China, in my view, are criticism of the U.S. itself,” Wu said when asked about Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s recent statementseffectively accusing China of wanting to dominate smaller countries in the Indo-Pacific region. “In recent years, the U.S. has waged wars around the world and harmed the sovereignty of many countries. Its involvement has led to a large number of casualties, injuries and displacement.”

Furthermore, “When it comes to cyber security, the U.S. is notorious for its massive cyber espionage and cyber attacks against other countries. It has yet to provide an explanation to the international community on Edward Snowden, and is the least qualified country to point fingers at others on this issue,” Wu continued. “As for the space, the U.S. has established a space force and developed strong space operation capabilities, which will only intensify militarization and arms race in the space, and greatly undermine peace, security and global strategic stability.”

Wu said that U.S. “freedom of navigation operations” should instead be called “hegemony of navigation operations.” He said, “Such actions severely violate the sovereignty and security interests of littoral states, undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea, and endanger the safety of front-line service members. They are highly irresponsible and extremely dangerous....”

As for the NDAA itself, its contents “are full of Cold War mindsets and hyping up competition between the U.S. and China and the so-called ‘China Military Threat,’ ” Wu said.

“It also contains negative provisions on Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang. This Act severely interferes in China’s domestic affairs and violates the One China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiqués. It also undermines the relations between China and the United States and the mil-mil relationship, and hurts mutual trust and cooperation between the two sides. The Chinese military is firmly opposed to this Act, and the Chinese side has already lodged solemn representations to the U.S. side.”