China Defence Ministry expressed on Friday discontent over a US military aid plan to Philippine for confronting Chinese coastguard ships.
In a press briefing, Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said, “we will take legitimate countermeasures against deliberate infringements and provocations to protect our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.” Xiaogang, also expressed China’s dissatisfaction with the Japanese-Philippine military exercises in the “exclusive economic zone” to build a “free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Xiaogang added that China always believes that defense cooperation between countries should never target a third party to maintain peace and stability in the region.
He points out that some countries outside the area, like the USA and Japan, continue to cause disturbances in the Chinese southern Sea.
Xiaogang accused the Philippines of “inviting wolves into the house and willingly acting as their pawns” by involving the United States and its allies in the So
uth China Sea disputes.
Last July, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that his country would provide USD 500 million to the Philippines to strengthen relations and “confront tensions” in the Indian and Pacific Oceans region.
Source : Kuwait News Agency