The US intentionally hypes up the “China threat” as an excuse to boost its military spending, all in an effort to maintain its global dominance, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, after President Joe Biden signed the 2023 US National Defense Authorization Act into law.
“Facts have proved more than once that the US is the direct threat to the international order and the culprit of the regional turbulence,” stated the ministry’s spokesman, Colonel Tan Kefei.
The statement went on to claim that, in pursuit of its own interests, the US on multiple occasions has “either waged wars against other countries or created conflicts, causing massive casualties and displacement of innocent civilians.”
The $858-billion US military budget for fiscal year 2023, which authorized $10 billion in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement for Taiwan, is yet another in a series of provocative moves that “seriously jeopardize the peace and stability in Taiwan Strait and increase the risk of China-US military confrontation.”
The Chinese People's Liberation Army further vowed to “resolutely safeguard national reunification and territorial integrity of the country,” warning that Washington has no other choice but to “respect China’s core interests and major concerns.”
The island of Taiwan has been self-governed since 1949, but never officially declared independence from Beijing, while China views it as part of its One-China territory. Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have been high since the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August.
Washington must drop its “old trick of unilateral bullying” that it plays with Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call earlier this week. “It has not worked with China in the past, nor will it work in the future.”