“The U. S. will continue to pursue a constructive, results-oriented relationship with China…”
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Secretary of Defense James Mattis slammed China’s military actions in the South China Sea on Saturday, rebuking its placement of weapons on contested islands in the region as an aggressive show of “intimidation and coercion.”
Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security conference, Mattis stressed that China’s militarization of a string of islands in the South China Sea — where it has installed missiles and other advanced military equipment — is a flagrant violation of accepted norms in the area and a clear threat to regional powers, according to The New York Times .
“Despite China’s claims to the contrary, the placement of these weapons systems is tied directly to military use for the purposes of intimidation and coercion,” Mattis said at the conference.
Mattis argued that China’s military actions in the region threaten relations with the U. S., adding that the Chinese strategy is “in stark contrast to the openness our strategy promotes” and that it calls into question “China’s broader goals.”
Mattis earlier disinvited China from a multinational naval exercise this summer over its aggressive actions, but he emphasized that the U. S. is still committed to improved relations with China.
He tried to ease concerns about President Donald Trump’s trade policies as U. S. officials head to China to negotiate a new trade agreement, a key tenant of Trump’s foreign policy. The U. S. has also been working to ease tensions as it seeks China’s help enforcing sanctions on North Korea until leader Kim Jong Un agrees to denuclearize.
“The U. S. will continue to pursue a constructive, results-oriented relationship with China,” Mattis said, “competing vigorously where we must.”
Very surprised that China would be doing this? https://t.co/D03kV07dF7
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2,2018
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is leading talks in Beijing over the weekend to work on “rebalancing the bilateral economic relationship” between the two nations, according to a White House statement.
Aaron Credeur is a News Fellow at IJR. He has written on a variety of national topics, including the 2016 presidential election, the state of liberal… more
