China slammed the Obama administration’s new defense strategy Monday, saying it increases tensions in the Far East and makes false charges about a secret military buildup by the Beijing government. The U.S. strategy shifts the focus away from ground troops like those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to a military with a stronger sea and air capability for defending American interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
The growth of China’s military power has created the possibility of “friction” in the region, according to a Pentagon document explaining the new strategy.
China said Monday it was committed to a “defensive” policy. “China’s strategic intent is clear, open and transparent,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said, according to press reports. “The charges against China in [the Pentagon] document are groundless and untrustworthy.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Asia-Pacific region is growing in importance for the U.S. economy and national security, so the nation needed to maintain “our military’s technological edge and freedom of action.”
