US warns of possibility of blowing up China's artificial islands
(Baonghean.vn) - The Pentagon on May 31 raised its voice about China's illegal militarization of islands in the East Sea, in the context of the Trump administration pressuring China to cooperate on the North Korea issue.
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| Illustration: US Navy |
When asked by a reporter about the possibility of the US “blowing up” one of China’s controversial artificial islands, Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, Director of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “I will just tell everyone that the US military has a lot of experience wiping out small islands in the Western Pacific.”
McKenzie’s words carry particular weight, given that he is one of the highest-ranking officers in the Pentagon. As director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he serves as a senior official reporting to Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and frequently appears in meetings with both Dunford and Defense Secretary James Mattis. He made it clear that the US military is “prepared to defend US and allied interests in the region.”
The rhetoric between the Pentagon and Beijing intensified this week after the US sent two warships to the South China Sea to demonstrate its naval presence in an area the US insists is international waters, while China claims almost all of it as its own. The US said a Chinese ship had operated in an unprofessional manner near US Navy vessels.
McKenzie said the US would not back down, asserting that “we will continue to conduct freedom of navigation operations as permitted under international law. And we will continue to do what we are doing.”
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| US Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie. Photo: Anadolu |
On May 31, the Chinese government called the US claim that Beijing was illegally militarizing the South China Sea “ridiculous.” However, earlier this week, Mattis asserted that China was not living up to its claim that it was not militarizing the region: “They have done exactly that, bringing in weapons that have never been there before.”
US surveillance has detected China moving surface-to-air missiles and air defense systems to the area. The footage also shows a Chinese bomber landing on an island for the first time.
“We will confront what we believe is inconsistent with international law, inconsistent with international tribunals that have spoken on that issue, and part of that is we maintain a very transparent military presence in the Pacific,” Mattis said.
