Islam Times - War with Trump’s US Practical Reality: China

Islam Times - Military officials in China say the idea of going to war with the US under current President is becoming a practical reality.

A senior Chinese military official was quoted by local media as saying that war with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and is becoming a “practical reality”.

The remarks were published on the People’s Liberation Army website, apparently in response to the aggressive rhetoric towards China from America's new administration.

They communicated a view from inside the Central Military Commission, which has overall authority of China’s armed forces.

Quoted in the South China Morning Post, the official from the Commission’s Defense Mobilization Department wrote: “A war ‘within the president’s term’ or ‘war breaking out tonight’ are not just slogans, they are becoming a practical reality.”

The official also called for military deployments in the tense South and East China Seas and for a missile defense system to guard the Korean peninsula, another regional hotspot, the Post reported.

The US should also reconsider its strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, the official wrote.

Trump and members of his administration have consistently voiced a hard line against China. Trump has branded the country a “currency manipulator” and accusing the country of underhand trading and economic tactics.

But more significantly in security terms, Trump has also ignored the US’s longstanding ‘One China’ policy, publicly engaging with the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, in a move that was hugely antagonizing for Beijing.

Further suggestions China is preparing for conflict emerged this week, with unconfirmed reports the military has moved long range missiles closer to the north east border in Heilongjiang province -- within firing range of the US.