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S China Sea defenses needed in face US militarization: Beijing

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 25, 2016 3:10PM

China says a US militarization process justifies the presence of Beijing's defenses in the disputed South China Sea, emphasizing that the Asian state is allowed to deploy military equipment on its own soil.

"The United States is the real promoter of the militarization of the South China Sea," China's Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a regular monthly news briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

Wu further defended Beijing's construction of military facilities on the South China Sea's contested islands and reefs, saying the operation is "really needed."

"It is China's legitimate right to deploy defense facilities within our own territory, no matter in the past or at present, no matter temporarily or permanently, no matter what equipment it is," he added.

Elsewhere in his comments, the official noted that people are being "dazzled" by US media hype over the Chinese defense equipment in the South China Sea.

Earlier this week, Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Navy's Pacific Command, accused China of attempting to militarily dominate East Asia, saying Washington would step up what he called freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea.

The Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman criticized US patrols in the South China Sea, saying such moves should be considered militarization.

Last week, the US and Taiwan criticized Beijing for what is said to be the deployment of surface-to-air missiles to Yongxing Island, known as Woody by China's rivals.

Reacting to the allegations, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said such reports are fabricated by Western media, and that the deployment of "limited and necessary national defense facilities on China's own territory" does not mean the militarization of the disputed waters.

China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. The contested waters are believed to be rich in oil and gas.

The dispute has at times drawn in extra-territorial countries, particularly the US, which have more often sided with China's rivals.

Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in the regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea. The US, however, accuses Beijing of carrying out what it calls a land reclamation program in the South China Sea by building artificial islands in the disputed areas.