Thaindian News

Beijing, Aug 1 (IANS) Neighbouring countries with territorial disputes were trying to infringe upon China’s sovereignty, a commentary in a Chinese newspaper said Wednesday.

These countries “are taking advantage of the US strategy of accelerated ‘return to the Asia-Pacific’ to create trouble with China”, it said without naming any country.

Xu Hui and Meng Fanli said that under the garb of maintaining regional stability, the US had increased pressure on China by rearranging its forces deployed abroad, holding joint military exercises with its allies, as well as supplying weapons to regional countries.

As a result, China faces numerous internal and external problems which threaten to end three decades of peace and development momentum in Asia, the commentary said.

Xu is a professor and Meng a lecturer at the National Defence University of the People’s Liberation Army.

“Some countries in the region wrongly assume that a stronger China, thanks to its fast economic development, will try to establish its hegemony,” the commentary said.

“They not only doubt China’s commitment to peaceful development, but also see China’s development through the tinted glasses of the Cold War.”

It added: “In recent years, some countries have voiced concern over China’s normal military buildup and used it as a pretext to doubt Beijing’s commitment to peaceful development.

“They argue that the military buildup will cause it to abandon its previous commitments to resolve disputes with neighbours through peaceful means.

“Such arguments are made either with ulterior motives or to misinterpret China’s history, culture and national defense policy.”